Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\21\story_21-8-2010_pg20_10
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Mumbai struggles with malaria outbreak
MUMBAI: India is battling record levels of malaria infection in Mumbai, health officials said on Friday, with a similar number of cases in the first half of the year to the figure for the whole of 2009.
Authorities in the financial hub have drafted in experts from Medecins Sans Frontieres to tacklean outbreak which has seen nearly 4,000 cases this month alone, with the most virulent form of the potential killer having struck 10 to 15 percent.
?It?s an exceptional year. We?re definitely seeing a rise in cases. It?s a record number,? assistant health officer Dr Daksha Shah told AFP. The first six months of this year saw more than 14,700 cases in Mumbai ? nearly as many as for the whole of 2009 ? while a sharp rise in patients since the start of the monsoon rain in July has left hospitals struggling to cope. Malaria, which causes fever, headaches and vomiting, is caused by a parasite transmitted via mosquito bites.
If untreated, it can quickly become life threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs, according to the World Health Organisation. Since August 1, just over 3,800 people have tested positive ? mostly for the non-lethal vivax strain ? and there have been 28 deaths, according to figures released on Friday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. afp
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Mumbai struggles with malaria outbreak
MUMBAI: India is battling record levels of malaria infection in Mumbai, health officials said on Friday, with a similar number of cases in the first half of the year to the figure for the whole of 2009.
Authorities in the financial hub have drafted in experts from Medecins Sans Frontieres to tacklean outbreak which has seen nearly 4,000 cases this month alone, with the most virulent form of the potential killer having struck 10 to 15 percent.
?It?s an exceptional year. We?re definitely seeing a rise in cases. It?s a record number,? assistant health officer Dr Daksha Shah told AFP. The first six months of this year saw more than 14,700 cases in Mumbai ? nearly as many as for the whole of 2009 ? while a sharp rise in patients since the start of the monsoon rain in July has left hospitals struggling to cope. Malaria, which causes fever, headaches and vomiting, is caused by a parasite transmitted via mosquito bites.
If untreated, it can quickly become life threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs, according to the World Health Organisation. Since August 1, just over 3,800 people have tested positive ? mostly for the non-lethal vivax strain ? and there have been 28 deaths, according to figures released on Friday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. afp