CMC acts to curb malaria

kolkata: peeved over criticism of kolkata being the worst breeding ground for malaria, the calcutta municipal corporation has initiated a move to absolve itself of the responsibility. in a circular issued on april 12, the civic body has said that it is not responsible for those malaria deaths within its jurisdiction who have not attended the civic body’s malaria clinics.according to the circular, all crematoria and burial grounds are to maintain records of persons dying of malaria. “cmc staff will visit the houses of the persons who have died to cross-check if there are malaria slides available and whether the person had attended the cmc malaria clinics. if not, the death is not our responsibility,� cmc officer on special duty (health) atanu mukherjee told tnn on tuesday. mukherjee said the move had become necessary as the malaria death figures were confusing. “the state government gives the death figures from its hospitals. but all those who die in city hospitals are not residents of the cmc area,� he said. at the end of the year, the cmc will publish the malaria death toll, making separate lists for those who had attended cmc clinics and those did not. “we are sure that most people attending cmc clinics will not succumb to malaria,� mukherjee claimed. member mayor in council (health), javed khan said that the cmc was focusing on creating greater awareness among the public, about preventive measures to combat malaria. “the number of malaria cases recorded a drop last year compared to 2000, but what is worrying is that the number of falciparum malaria cases in 2001 had gone up by four percent compared to 2000 in november-december 2001,� informed khan. according to cmc statistics, the number of malaria cases have been going down in the city. in 1999, about 104,000 malaria cases were recorded, which declined to 68,000 in 2000, and further down to 57,000 last year. according to cmc figures, 42 malaria deaths were recorded in the city in 2001. though the figures show that the cases are going down, mukherjee is worried over the growth of falciparum cases in the first week of april this year, compared to last year (see chart). the mayor has set up a task force headed by the municipal commissioner, to deal with malaria control in the city, in addition a high powered steering committee consisting of the mayor, and mics in charge of health, water, drainage and sewerage and buildings, khan told tnn. “the cmc or the state government alone cannot combat the malaria scourge, all agencies both governmental and non-governmental as well as the public at large had to be involved in the process of malaria eradication,� confessed khan.