2 more malaria deaths in 24 hrs

Two people died of malaria in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 63. At least 34 have died in August.

And the civic body has blamed global warming and changes in the environment for the rise in malaria cases this year. Since the onset of monsoon in June, at least 14,136 people have had malaria.

A 25-year-old man was admitted to Nair Hospital with severe liver complications. Later he was diagnosed with malaria. He died of the more virulent P falciparum strain of malaria. A 63-year-old woman from Vile Parle (east) died of mixed malaria (strains of both vivax and falciparum) within 24 hours of admission to Nityanand Nursing Home. “She also had diabetes and hypertension. It worsened matters,” Dr Neera Kewalramani, head of BMC’s epidemiology cell, said.

In the last three weeks, more than 3,663 people have been admitted to various civic hospitals because of malaria. “The numbers are huge but they are not the highest,” Dr Kishor Harugoli of BMC’s malaria surveillance department said. There were more than 4,600 malaria cases in August 2007. “Despite our best efforts, we are finding it difficult to control the breeding of mosquitoes at construction sites,” he said.

The city, he said, had seen labourers arriving in droves from malaria-hit states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

“Gadchiroli and Mumbai have reported the highest number of malaria patients. It is definitely worrisome,” state director general of health services Dr Prakash Doke said.
Besides malaria, dengue too is making its presence felt. An 8-year-old boy died of dengue at Sion Hospital within 15 minutes of admission.

“The patient was admitted at the last moment with very low platelet count,” Kewalramani said. Two more patients died of leptospirosis in the past 24 hours.