MALARIA: India: controlled and not controlled

PUNE: Pune, as well as Pimpri-Chinchwad, did not report any malaria deaths last year — April 2009 to March 2010 — even as Mumbai accounted for almost 90 per cent casualties in the state, that is 206 of the total 232, due to the mosquito-borne infection during the same period. A report by the state health department has raised concerns as the state witnessed a sharp rise in the deaths due to malaria last year. According to the report, the year 2008-09 saw 166 deaths while 2007-08 reported 176 casualties. Pune escaped the scourge due to consistent efforts by the civic body. “We follow weekly anti-larval programmes to check the breeding sites of malaria causing mosquitoes across the 144 wards in the PMC limits. A total of 300 field workers, 60 supervisors and 27 inspectors are involved in monitoring potential mosquito breeding areas,” Sadashiv Patole, head of the insect control department of the PMC said on Thursday. The plasmodium vivax strain of malaria, which was considered mild and caused no deaths till 2006, itself claimed 12 lives in Mumbai in 2009-10. The strain had claimed two lives each in 2007-08 and 08-09, also in Mumbai. The main killer is the Falciparum strain of malaria. “The possibility of the plasmodium vivax strain becoming deadlier cannot be ruled out,” Kishore Hargoli, assistant health officer of the Brihan-Mumbai Municipal Corporation, told TOI. “We have asked the central and state governments to conduct research to find out if there is any change in its virulence. Besides, co-morbid conditions like diabetes and hypertension can precipitate things,” he said. Former state entomologist Ashok Bhosale said: “It is only in the last two-three years that deaths due to the Plasmodium vivax strain of malaria is being seen in the state. This is definitely a matter of concern.” Bhosale said, “A large number of construction projects in Mumbai is fuelling the rise in malaria case as these mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. High humidity levels also contribute to the increase.” Pune-based microbiologist Siddhartha Dalvi said, “Of the four strains of plasmodium, falciparum and vivax are the two strains most commonly found in India. Falciparum malaria has been typically associated with the complications of malaria like cerebral malaria.” According to Dalvi, occasional complications and deaths due to vivax malaria have also been reported in the last two years. “This could primarily be due to growing resistance of plasmodium vivax to anti-malarial drugs. Studies need to be conducted to find out if the vivax strains in India have undergone a change in virulence.” Mumbai reported 48,341 malaria cases during 2009-10 as against 27,417 a year before that. On the other hand, Pune reported 148 cases that year as against 105 registered a year before that. Pimpri-Chinchwad registered 633 cases during 2009-10 as against 366 recorded a year before that. However, no malaria deaths were reported from Pune city as well as from Pimpri-Chinchwad last year, the report states.
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