In sync with World Malaria Day today, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has announced a host of measures to prevent the disease. The civic body would intensify its vector-control initiatives for seven days as a part of the programme of preventing malaria.
The week-long programme includes rigorous steps to prevent mosquito breeding and identification of malaria patients. For this, the municipal corporation would keep its lens focused on the wards that were identified as most vulnerable pockets to malaria. According to the data of 2023, around 59 wards of the KMC were underlined as the susceptible pockets for malaria. The wards in the list are located in the northern and southern parts of the city, from Ward 1 to 94 of the municipal corporation.
While carrying out the routine vector-control initiatives, the KMC in the next seven days, from 26 April to 3 May, would take measures to curb mosquito breeding in the sensitive wards. According to the health department of the KMC, the staff of this wing has been directed to identify and destroy at least one anopheles mosquito breeding ground in each of the 59 identified wards on a daily basis. The vector-control team has also been instructed to assure that the overhead tanks are not kept open in private houses. They would also have to check the terraces of the buildings to check the vulnerability of mosquito breeding. The team would also slap at least five notices in each ward, under 469a of the KMC Act. The 496a KMC Act 1980 is given to the owners or occupiers of households or puddles, which breed mosquitoes or even be a reason of nuisance, and are left unattended by them.
Along with locating the mosquito breeding, the vector control teams of the KMC, during door-to-door visits would also collect the blood samples of patients with fever. They have also been instructed to find out if there are any malaria patients in their wards. If found, the details of their original residence along with the information whether the patients have taken a full dose of malaria or not. The team has also been asked to increase awareness among the citizens by distributing leaflets among them.