State entomologist Dr Mahendra Jagtap said favorable weather conditions, intermittent rains, humidity levels, all conducive to the spread of dengue, are contributing to the increase. “Testing for Dengue and Both has also increased” Malaria this year. Last year, there was a decline in testing for almost all diseases,” he said.
For example, the slide test for malaria had dropped to 1.24 crore last year compared to 1.72 crore in 2019, a drop of 28%. However, Dr Jagtap acknowledged that the vector control measures at the grassroots level in many districts have worked as trained staff have been sent to facilitate vaccination against COVID.
Gadchiroli And 95% of malaria cases are being reported in Mumbai. While Mumbai contributes about 40% of the total malaria incidence in the state, Gadchiroli district with tribal population accounts for 56% of the cases. Dr Jagtap said that the remaining 3-4% of the state cases of malaria come from the rest of the state.
The diversion of surveillance staff is affecting measures on the ground in two ways. First, vector control activities, including identifying and destroying breeding sites, are not optimal. The second and more important part is the monitoring of confirmed cases. Gadchiroli mainly sees falciparum malaria which requires treatment for three days, while Mumbai mainly reports vivax malaria which has a treatment course of 14 days. “We believe that the districts have not been able to ensure that people have completed their treatment to reduce the parasite load,” he said.
BMC’s acting health officer Dr Mangala Gomare said there was no major increase in malaria or dengue in the city. “Malaria cases are seen only in endemic wards like Byculla, Parel, Worli, Prabhadevi. Some of them have dilapidated structures, huge railway tracks and workshops, which make vector control challenging,” she said.
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