3 wards ‘critical’ on BMC malaria list

The affluent G South ward of Prabhadevi has been identified as a problem area for occurrence of malaria over the last three years. The BMC has attributed this to the bad water storage habits in the area.

“While there has been a 40 per cent drop in malaria cases in G South,it continues to be a problem area. We have identified pockets of the region where walls need to be treated with indoor residual spray. Action will be taken accordingly,” Mhaiskar said.

As per figures maintained by the BMC,622 cases of malaria have been recorded in the city from January to mid-May. This shows almost a 60 per cent reduction in cases as compared to last year for the same period.

A team from the National Institute of Malaria research was in the city on a three-day visit to study the extent of breeding of the anopheles mosquito,the malaria vector,in the city. According to Mhaiskar,the team reported that there was no breeding sites of the mosquito were found in the four wards that the Central team visited.

“The team visited the L,F south,G South and P North wards. The team concluded that there was no breeding of the anopheles mosquito in these areas. Details of the report will be briefed to the state government soon,” Mhaiskar added.