MUMBAI: There were more than twice the number of malaria, leptospirosis and Covid-19 cases in July over the previous month, while other monsoon-related illnesses such as gastroenteritis, dengue and H1N1, or swine flu, showed a significant surge, according to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday.
As per the BMC’s monthly disease surveillance report, cases of malaria more than doubled, from 655 in June to 1,380 in July, while leptospirosis too more than doubled, from 33 to 78, and Covid-19 from 27 to 58. According to the data, the number of dengue cases rose from 266 to 466 from June to July; gastroenteritis from 603 to 851; and H1N1 went up from 58 to 105. The number of chikungunya cases remained unchanged at seven.
Executive health officer with the BMC, Dr Daksha Shah, said the spike in numbers is routine. “Every year, the numbers of vector-borne illnesses rise every month from June onwards as the monsoon season proceeds. July and August are considered peak months for these ailments. This is because mosquitoes tend to breed a fortnight after days of heavy rain when water lies stagnant.”
Doctors said they had witnessed similar trends. “Malaria, dengue and leptospirosis have risen along with viral infections with symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting. These monsoon-related ailments, linked to consuming contaminated food and water, continue for a week to ten days. They are being reported from across Mumbai and across demographics,” said Dr Gautam Bhansali, senior physician with Bombay Hospital. “The good thing is hospitalisations have reduced since people are vigilant and seek treatment on time.”
Dr Divya Gopal, additional director of internal medicine with Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, said she too has seen a surge in malaria, dengue and influenza cases. “The number of leptospirosis cases have just started trickling in. I advise everyone to go in for early diagnosis even if they show symptoms like low-grade fever with cough and a runny nose,” she said.
The BMC said it has intensified measures to contain the spread of vector-borne diseases. In July, civic teams surveyed 659,316 households covering 2.3 million people. A total of 75,650 blood samples were collected at health camps to monitor these diseases. About 51,216 residents received preventive medical treatment for leptospirosis.
Similarly, to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, the BMC inspected 54,605 potential breeding sites, of which it identified 5,969 breeding spots for the anopheles mosquito.
BMC teams also removed 2,535 discarded tyres and 64,596 pieces of scrap and unused articles that had collected rainwater and served as mosquito breeding grounds. It also carried out extensive fogging operations, covering 42,284 building premises and 595,092 slum settlements. Under its rodent-control programme, the BMC captured 2,623 rats in traps and exterminated 783 rats using rodenticides, bringing the total number of rodents controlled during the reporting period to 3,406.
