MCC & Health Department Well Prepared to Tackle Malaria During Monsoon

The health department and Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) have been gearing up to check the spread of malaria in the view of arriving monsoon season. Dakshina Kannada has been witnessing a decrease in the number of malaria cases over the past five years, but the department is well prepared to tackle vector-borne diseases. While the district had reported 69 malaria cases between January and May in 2022, only 20 cases were reported till May this year.

District vector-borne disease control programme officer Dr Naveenchandra Kulal said that the health department has deployed 45 urban malaria workers (UMW) to create awareness and carry out other works for mosquito source reduction in Mangalore city. MCC also has a team of 60 multi-purpose workers to take up various initiatives, including conducting blood tests.

Stagnant water at construction sites is a major issue in Mangalore city. The city corporation has formed teams to take up measures to clear and prevent waterlogging in the city. Action will be taken to penalise violators in case of negligence. The city corporation will clear waterlogged places, and barricades will be erected around such places to prevent mishaps.

The UMWs will visit construction sites and other places to create awareness on malaria, and collect blood samples for tests. They will also create awareness to curb mosquito breeding in stagnant water. In addition, each public health centre (PHC) has two health workers each, and Asha workers have also been deployed for malaria prevention activities.