Mumbai: Downward trend in malaria cases seen in G North ward

Malaria cases are seeing a sharp rise across the city but the numbers are at their lowest point in the past two years at G North wardmdashwhich comprises Dadar Dharavi and Mahimmdashthanks to a collaborative effort between its health administration war room and other departmentsWar rooms were introduced by the BMCrsquos health department in all 24 wards when the pandemic was at its peak In February civic officials announced that the war rooms would also cater to patients with noncommunicable diseases Earlier this month the health department released a statement where it said that the war rooms would now deal with monsoon ailmentsldquoWe have been attending to patients suffering from a variety of illnesses since the beginning of this yearrdquo said the representative from G Northrsquos war room In May and June of last year the ward reported 40 and 43 malaria cases respectively In 2021 during those two months there were 26 and 31 casesAedes aegypti mosquitoes which spread dengue commonly breed indoors in clean stagnant water while Anopheles mosquitoes can thrive in various sites including dirty water found outdoorsThe map that the team uses to identify clusters in the area which comprises Dadar Dharavi and MahimIn May and June the ward reported only 21 and 30 cases of malaria respectively Dr Balasaheb Kawale the wardrsquos medical officer of health said ldquoG North is at a higher risk and we mostly see a lot of cases in Dadar and Mahim Apart from spots where water accumulates during the monsoon a lot of construction and redevelopment activities take place thererdquoAccording to Dr Kawale BMC officials face numerous hurdles when carrying out pest control activities in highrise buildings There were five cases of dengue in May this year compared to three in 2022 and none in 2021 In June there were six cases compared to five last year and none the year before that ldquoDharavi reports malaria and dengue cases and we are able to immediately carry out activities there to prevent it from becoming a cluster but highrises present difficultiesrdquo he saidHow the war rooms functionThe functioning of each war room differs based on the directions given by the medical officer of health said Kawale Things were different before he joinedldquoIt was scattered Multiple departments were involved in controlling the spread of certain diseases but they were working individually instead of as a teamrdquo said Dr Uzma Sheikh who has been working in G North wardrsquos war room on a contractual basisAlong with a social worker and a data entry operator she handles about 20 calls every day ldquoSome days we receive even more calls We coordinate with the pest control department as well as the disaster management departmentrdquo she saidAnother medical professional in the war room said ldquoWe receive a list of patients from various public and private facilities We then map the data to identify clusters more clearly and the next step is to carry out awareness and pest control activities in those areas We also coordinate with health posts and HBT clinicsrdquoPrivate labs send the data but they are not legally required to do so Dr Sheikh added ldquoVery few of them are reluctant while most simply forget to do it by the end of the day and some still need training on how to fill out the BMC form that provides us with information about the disease and the patientrdquo she said The team also follows up with patients to ensure they continue taking their medicationsFurthermore WhatsApp groups have been created where every pest control activity carried out after coordination with the war room team is posted and monitored by Dr Kawale Malaria cases see a sharp and rapid rise from July till the end of the monsoon Last year in July G North reported 97 malaria cases ldquoI can safely ensure that the cases this July will not exceed 50 in my wardrdquo Dr Kawale said30No of malaria cases reported in June in ward