Malaria cases constant at 15 for 10 days, disease is under-reported, say experts
GHAZIABAD: The district’s tally of dengue cases breached the 300-mark on Thursday as 24 fresh cases of the disease were recorded, taking the total number of cases to 312 till September this year.
However, according to official data, the total numbers of cases of malaria and scrub typhus have remained constant at 15 and 39, respectively, since September 20, with experts claiming that there might be under-reportage of malaria cases.
The first dengue case was detected on September 1 this year. The district recorded the first 100 cases of dengue on September 15 and the next 100 cases in nine days on September 24. The last 100 cases have been reported in just six days.
Experts believe this year, the prevalence of dengue is more than malaria.
“From the official figures of the health department, it seems there are no more malaria cases. But that is not the case. There are 2-4 malaria cases reported per day and the disease has not been stemmed as of now. There could be under-reporting of malaria cases. The health department should direct hospitals to report cases in a timely manner,” said Dr Ashish Agarwal, president of Indian Medical Association (Ghaziabad).
District surveillance officer Dr Rakesh Gupta said every hospital has been directed to inform the district health department about each case. “We will look into the issue of why the malaria case count is constant for the past 10 days. We will again direct the hospitals to report cases immediately. Action will be taken against hospitals hiding such cases and their registration licence will be cancelled,” said Dr Gupta.
Dr VB Jindal, former president of IMA (Ghaziabad), said that it is practically not possible that malaria cases have stopped coming in.
“Cases of malaria fever are usually reported till the end of October. The health department must find out why the cases of malaria are at a constant for past 10 days,” he said. According to official figures, Ghaziabad district reported 128 cases of malaria in 2016, 293 in 2017, 150 in 2016, 142 in 2019 and 13 in 2020. “Cases of scrub typhus are also not being reported nowadays. On an average, we conduct about 1,000 tests for malaria and 100 tests for dengue fever everyday. The instances of scrub typhus have subsided, but not ended, while there has been a spurt in dengue cases in a matter of days,” said Gupta.