Malaria cases drop by 42% in dist this yr

Thane: The Thane district malaria department has recorded a drop in the number of patients suffering from the mosquito-borne disease. A drop of almost 42 per cent has been registered till June this year as compared to last year.
According to the statistics compiled by the department, while there were 834 positive malaria cases from January to June 2017, the number went down by 483 patients in 2018 during the same period.
Officials said that their proactiveness of early detection and spreading awareness about the disease played a huge role in reducing the number of malaria cases.
“The number of patients suffering from the disease has gone down and one of the reasons for it is that we have made sure to do an early diagnosis and ensured prompt treatment. As soon as any symptoms of the disease are seen the person is tested to see if he or she is malaria positive. Also, our Asha workers go door-to-door on fortnight basis to keep a tab on every citizen’s health. When we come across anybody suffering from malaria, we also check the health of other members of the family,” said Dr Pradeep Kakade, district malaria officer.
The officials added that they spread awareness about the precautionary measures through various platforms, some of which are through Asha workers explaining the same to citizens, conducting rallies by school children, etc.
Authorities even ensure that there are no mosquito breeding spots so that the disease does not spread. They destroy the breeding spots by various methods, which also includes putting guppy fish that eat the mosquito larvae.
Statistics also show that as compared to the rural pockets there were more patients in the corporation area. While there were 21 patients in the rural pockets of Kalyan, Ambernath, Bhwandi, Murbad and Shahapur, there were around 429 patients in the urban belt.
City-based doctors said that one of the reasons for this could be that there are many construction sites in the city as compared to the rural pockets, which makes it easier for the mosquitoes to breed and eventually spread the disease.
one of the reasons for it is that we have made sure to do an early diagnosis and ensured prompt treatment. As soon as any symptoms of the disease are seen the person is tested to see if he or she is malaria positive. our Asha workers go door-to-door on fortnight basis to keep a tab on every citizen’s health