State monitoring officer Dr Pradeep Awte said, “The increase is a reflection of local factors such as rainfall, population density, among others.” malaria eradication still obtainable.
The World Health Organization defines “eradication of malaria” as the interruption of local transmission in a defined geographic area.
BMC officials said that since the last outbreak in 2010, malaria cases in Mumbai have come down significantly; Public health measures such as talking to large landowners to take anti-malarial measures, checks by pesticide officials, and rainwater harvesting helped.
“We now register around 5,000 cases annually,” said Dr. Mangala Gomare, acting BMC health officer.
Public health experts said malaria is endemic in urban centers like Mumbai. “There are many government agencies in Mumbai working on multiple infrastructure projects at any given time. So there is bound to be debris and stagnant water which allows mosquitoes to breed,” said a senior. doctor from the civil system.