Mangaluru : The Health Department has intensified measures to control malaria and has requested people to follow precautionary measures.

District Vector Borne Disease Control Officer Dr Arun said due attention has been given to early detection of malaria and dengue in primary health centres across the district. Special surveillance teams, formed by the department, have been visiting construction sites to collect the blood samples of workers for testing. Treatments are provided if any symptoms are found. Six such teams are active, Dr Arun said.

A total of 1,966 positive cases of malaria were reported last year in the district in the months of January, February, March, April and May. Among them, 1,793 cases were reported in urban areas and 173 in rural areas.

This year, a total of 1,786 cases have been reported during the same period. As many as 1,697 cases are related to urban areas and 89 to rural areas.

A 50-member team, comprising trained multipurpose workers (MPW) by the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC), is visiting houses. The follow-up of malaria cases is being done through Malaria Control Software, which enables real time reporting from laboratories. The Mangaluru City Corporation team is working in coordination with the department of Health, he said.

He said the people can contact the 24×7 helpline for malaria diagnosis and treatment, if they have any symptoms. The helpline number is 9448556872. The team will visit the site, collect the blood samples and will provide treatment, if necessary.

Owing to timely interventions, malaria cases are being detected in an early stage and there has been an increase in the number of hospital admissions. The department has been providing health education as a control measure. Apart from these, mosquito repellent solutions have been sprayed near the sheds of construction workers and the mosquito nets are treated with chemicals to control and kill mosquitoes, he added.

So far, 86 cases of dengue have been reported during this year and one death has been reported from Puttur.

Mohammed Azwan, a six-year-old boy from Belandur in Puttur, was suffering from fever and was given treatment in Puttur. As the fever did not subside, the boy was rushed to a private hospital in Mangaluru, where he was diagnosed with Dengue.

According to the sources in KMC, the boy’s parents requested the doctors to discharge the boy against medical advice to be taken to a different hospital. The boy breathed his last after a few hours of discharge, they added.