Mangaluru: Dakshina District Kannada witnessed a drastic decline in the number of malaria cases during a pandemic when Covid-19 was at its peak this year.
While the district has recorded 416 malaria cases between January and May by 2020, the number decreased to 277 for the period according to this year.
Of the 277 cases of malaria 255 reported in Mangalore City while rural areas only found 11 cases in five months.
Belthangady Taluk in this district has not reported a malaria case between January and May, said Dr.
Naveenchandra Kulal, officials of the disease control program are redecasted by regional vectors.
“The district has reported nearly 16,000 malaria cases in a year ten years ago.
However, the number of cases decreased significantly that only 1,397 cases were reported in 2020.
While the district recorded 4,741 malaria cases in 2017, the number was reduced to 3,871 in 2018 and 2,797 In 2019, “said Dr.
Kulal at the workshop held by Dakshina Kannada which was organized by Zilla Panchayat and the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Pathrika Bhavan here on Tuesday.
“More than 80% of cases of state malaria in 2019 were reported in the district of Dakshina Kannada.
The temperature and weather of the coastal district is beneficial for mosquito breeding.
Furthermore, there are more than 14,000 open wells in the city limits of Mangaloru which is the main source of mosquito breeding.
According to the survey, only 2,000 open wells used while left remaining abandoned.
Even in used wells, there is a possibility of mosquito nursery when water in it remains stagnant and open.
The possibility of a mosquito breeding very little when people take water from the well manually using the ship and rope.
With submersible pumps , water in the well won’t shake and it will turn into a breeding place for mosquitoes, “he said.
Daluk Health Officer Dr.
Sujay Bhandar said most of the apartments in the city also had mosquito breeding spots.
“Water stagnant on the terrace leads to mosquito breeding,” he added.