Karnataka - Mangalore   

What ails malaria control programme

PRECAUTION: Fogging machine being used to control mosquito breeding at Mangalore North Police Station. — Photo: R. Eswarraj

MANGALORE: A group of students of Master of Social Work (MSW) from St. Aloysius College have brought to light some lacunae in the malaria control mechanism in Mangalore.

One of their findings is that a majority of workers, who have to spray the anti-larval fumigants, do not know how to use the apparatus.

On condition of anonymity, one of the students told The Hindu that workers spray the anti-larval fumigants indiscriminately on flowerpots, gardens, walls and puddles. Baytex is a branded chemical spray used on mosquito larvae and K-Othrine is another chemical spray to be used inside houses to control malaria carrying mosquitoes.

“None of the workers I spoke to know which chemical to use where. If they run out of Baytex, they start using K-Othrine,” a student said.

The students alleged that the Mangalore City Corporation officials were not prepared to provide data on the incidence of malaria cases.

“This data is essential to decided on the measures to fight against malaria,” said a teacher, who is overseeing the project work of these students. “Once the number of malaria cases is known, the patients can be approached and educated about preventing the disease from spreading,” the teacher said. Clinics and hospitals in Mangalore should intimate the Malaria Cell as soon as they detect a case of malaria. The cell should compile this data on a daily basis and forward it to the corporation authorities. “We have been requesting for this information for the last couple of months but the authorities have not furnished it. At last, we approached the Principal Secretary for Health and collected the information. That is when we found that the records were not updated every day,” said a student.

A few years ago, a decision was taken by the District Administration to monitor migrant communities for signs of malaria. In order to tag them, it was decided to test them periodically and issue “yellow cards”. These cards were used to record the check-ups. “I have met about 100 migrant workers. I am yet to come across a yellow card,” said a student.

Reacting to these revelations by the students, District Health Officer H. Jagannath said: “We have trained the workers to spray the chemicals properly. I do not know why they keep making same mistakes.”

He promised to look into the maintenance of records. Regarding the yellow cards, he said printing and distribution was in progress.

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