Scarce rain takes bite out of malaria in June

As Rains Stay Away, Dry Spell Brings Good And Bad News For The City

Mumbai: With scarce rainfall unable to fill the lakes supplying water to Mumbai, the city is again staring at water cuts, but the dry spell has, ironically, brought good news on the health front. The number of malaria cases registered this June has gone down drastically, when compared to those in the previous seasons. 
    Going by the figures provided by the BMC, only 1,332 malaria cases have been registered with civic hospitals this June, a figure much lower than last year's 3,637 incidents and 5,866 in 2010. Dr Hemant Thacker, who consults in Jaslok and Breach Candy hospitals, agrees that there have not been too many malaria cases so far. "It has hardly rained. As a result, water could not accumulate anywhere, robbing mosquitoes of their breeding ground. Construction sites must also be abiding the civic norms for rains," Thacker said. 
    The medicine wards of civic-run KEM Hospital also support the BMC's figures. The hospital's wards, which would overflow with patients till last year, now have a steady flow of patients, but a few beds are still unoccupied. On Sunday, TOI found that there was no extra floor bed used to accommodate all the patients till two years ago. "Usually, we have to arrange for extra beds to treat patients for monsoon diseases. But this time, the count of fever and malaria patients is considerably low," said a junior doctor in KEM Hospital. When it comes to the malaria deaths, four cases were recorded in June 2010 and seven in June 2011. But BMC epidemiologist Dr Mangala Gomare said, "Four died of malaria in May, but no death was recorded in June." 
    According to the BMC, the standard operating procedures (SOP)s followed last year helped bring down malaria cases. "As part of SOPs, micromapping of the city was done. After that, high-risk areas were identified and treated," said Gomare. 
Civic Advisory To Control Malaria 
Dry Day | Once a week, people must observe 'dry day' when they must clean all vessels and replace stored water 
Water Stagnation | Citizens should ensure that water does not accumulate anywhere 
Indoor Residual Spray | Areas with high human density should allow civic volunteers to spray insecticide inside their homes 
Mosquito Nets 
| Mumbaikars must use good old nets that have revolutionised mosquito prevention globally 
Early Diagnosis | At the earliest sign of fever, patients must visit doctors for proper tests and treatment