According to latest reports, Malaria cases in Maharashtra have doubled in the past two years, when the nation is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, the state economic survey revealed last week.
Though, there is a significant drop in the coronavirus cases, which can be a reason to heave a sigh of relief; increase in prevalence of another disease in the state poses worry.
The rise is a reflection of local factors such as rainfall, population density, among other and added that malaria elimination is still achievable, State surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate was quoted as saying by TOI.
On the other hand, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare stated that almost 5,000 annual malaria cases are registered annually in the city.
As per accounts, it has come to light that 17,365 people were infected with malaria in the state during 2021-22. Also, in 2019-20, the number of malaria patients in the state was 9,491.
Meanwhile, public health officials said that malaria in urban places such as Mumbai is endemic. Mumbai has multiple governmental agencies working on multiple infrastructure projects at any given time, a senior doctor explained.
BMC officials said that malaria cases in Mumbai had dropped significantly since the last outbreak in 2010 owing to public health measures such as coordinating with big land owners to carry out anti-malarial measures, carrying out checks by insecticide officers, and not allowing rainwater to accumulate helped.
Besides, it has been observed that the pattern of rise in malaria cases is not restricted to just Maharashtra. As per WHO, the global response to the long-time threat of malaria has taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted health services in many countries, leading to tens of thousands more deaths worldwide in 2020.
Share
Tweet
