Mumbai accounts for 40 per cent of 4.5k+ malaria cases in state

PSM News /

Monday Jul 10, 2023

While Maharashtra recorded 4,547 cases since January, Mumbai had the highest reported cases at 1,829. Mumbai's surrounding civic corporation areas are also urban hotspots for malaria in the state: Thane (150), Kalyan (40) and Mira-Bhayander (18). Among the districts, Gadchiroli recorded the highest malaria cases at 2,157 this year.

Mumbai: The city accounts for over 40 per cent of the malaria cases recorded across Maharashtra between January and June, according to a monsoon diseases update issued by the state government on Sunday.

While Maharashtra recorded 4,547 cases since January, Mumbai had the highest reported cases at 1,829. Mumbai's surrounding civic corporation areas are also urban hotspots for malaria in the state: Thane (150), Kalyan (40) and Mira-Bhayander (18). Among the districts, Gadchiroli recorded the highest malaria cases at 2,157 this year.

The powerloom hub of Bhiwandi is among the civic areas in the state that has recorded zero malaria cases since January. Nashik, Malegaon, Dhule, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Pune are other civic corporation areas that have reported zero cases.

A senior state health official said the main highlights this year are the 12 districts - apart from the 12 municipal corporation areas including Bhiwandi - that recorded zero malaria cases this year so far. The country is working towards malaria elimination by 2030, but to achieve this it should report near zero cases by 2027 and maintain the statistics for the next two years as well.

Overall, malaria cases have dropped by 20 per cent between 2021 and 2022, from 19,303 to 15,451, said state epidemiology officer Dr Babita Kamlapurkar. The incidence of mosquito-borne viral infections of dengue and chikungunya, too, have reduced in the state. In 2021, there were 12,720 dengue cases reported across the state but this dropped by 33 per cent to 8,578 cases in 2022. Dengue deaths too dropped (43 per cent) from 47 in 2021 to 27 in 2022, said the doctor.

While 2,526 cases of chikungunya were reported in 2021, the cases dropped by 57 per cent to 1,087 in 2022.

The state health department has been spraying insecticides, releasing guppy fishes at the breeding spots of mosquitoes and carrying out public awareness campaigns to highlight ways to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.