Kamat Minerva

Re: malaria risk in bangalore

by ricky52

Quote:-

Steps taken to check spread of malaria

Staff Reporter

Many of the affected people are from outside Bangalore

BANGALORE: With malarial cases being reported in city hospitals and deaths due to cerebral malaria also being reported, efforts are on by the State Health Department and the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) authorities to check the spread of the disease.

However, according to Health Department officials, most of the cases are from other districts in the State and from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.

From January to June this year, 16 cases of malaria were reported in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits. At St. John's Medical College Hospital, two people from Gadag died of cerebral malaria in June while one patient from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh died at the hospital this month. Two persons from Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu are being treated for cerebral malaria at the hospital. In all, the hospital received 22 malarial cases in June and 18 cases were reported in July.

Cerebral malaria is a severe form of the disease caused by mosquitoes carrying the plasmodium falcifarum parasite while the common type of malaria is caused by plasmodium vivax.

Three persons of the same family contracted cerebral malaria on a trip to Mekedaatu near Kanakapura and were admitted to the Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital here. One person died, while a 17-year-old boy from the family is being treated at the hospital. At St. Philomena's Hospital, one patient from Dharmapuri with cerebral malaria was treated a few days ago. "We get both types of malaria and have been receiving three cases every week," Swapna of the Medicine Department of the hospital said.

The Chief Health Officer, BMP, Tandava Murthy, said the city corporation had taken steps to disinfect areas where there was water collection.

Source "The Hindu"