Malaria deaths dropped by 50% in 2011: BMC

Malaria has lost its sting in Mumbai, said civic officials. The number of deaths due to malaria in the city has reduced by half compared to 2010.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stated that in 2010, during the malaria outbreak in Mumbai, 145 people died. Meanwhile, in 2011, only 64 deaths have been recorded in public health establishments.

The number of malaria cases has also dropped drastically — compared to 76,755 cases in 2010, there were only 39,822 cases in 2011 — a fall of nearly 50%.

"In January 2012, we have screened 58,000 construction workers, out of which only 237 tested positive. Last January, we had 3,980 positives. For the first time in years, we have had a steady drop in malaria cases from May to December," said Manisha Mhasikar, additional municipal commissioner.

Mhasikar said this was due to the administration's strategy, "We ensured that there are as less breeding sites for the mosquitoes. The next strategy was to ensure compliance of the treatment.”

She said that last year's outbreak was because of a systematic drop in the compliance of medication among patients since 2005.

The BMC started its anti-malaria campaign, ‘Fight the Bite’ in 2010.

The campaign included door-to-door surveillance of the population for detection and compliance of the treatment, making builders accountable by ensuring that there are no breeding sites at the construction sites and spraying of pesticides on sites where several people had been infected.