MUMBAI: Monsoon maladies have the city in their grip according to figures released by the BMC. with over 1,142 cases registered in the first half of August as compared to 655 in June and 1,380 in July, the year-on-year comparison too shows an 11.39 % hike over the corresponding period last year (see graphic) While the number of malaria patients has risen steadily.
Doctors from the private sector too found similar patterns. Dr Trupti Gilada, an infectious disease physician at Saifee Hospital, Charni Road, noticed in her practice that malaria and dengue cases in July had doubled from June. Unfortunately, they are no longer just confined to the monsoon. We are seeing malaria and dengue throughout the year, which tells us that this is not simply a weather issue but an urban planning problem.
Similarly, the city has also seen a rise in cases of H1N1, a viral flu caused by fluctuating weather patterns and humidity: the first two weeks of August had 146 cases as compared to 58 cases in June and 105 cases in July. The increase over last year is almost 329%.
“Mumbai is witnessing a significant increase in monsoon-related illnesses,” she said. Dr Gilada said that factors like potholes, poorly managed construction sites, inadequate drainage, garbage accumulation and stagnant water accumulation created opportunities for mosquito breeding, exacerbated by erratic rainfall. “Heavy rain creates breeding sites, and when the rain stops, these stagnant pockets continue to allow mosquito populations to build up,” she said.
The BMC attributed the rise in numbers to the annual pattern of weather fluctuations. “At this point, the latter are not much of a concern. Dr Shah added that the numbers reflected an annual pattern seen in the city. She attributed the rise in H1N1, a type of influenza, to the ongoing weather variations that have led to an increase in airborne infections.
The civic body’s executive health officer Daksha Shah told HT that malaria remained a concern, and the numbers were expected to further escalate in September as per trends every year. “The malaria cases will come down only from September, after which the dengue cases are expected to rise,” she said.
