District malaria officer AK Poddar in Bokaro. Picture by Pankaj Singh

The state’s plans of introducing two varieties of fish, gambusia and guppy, to control the spread of mosquito larvae in ponds has failed to make an impact, at least in Bokaro, with the district administration now gearing up to tackle the spectre of malaria.

The administration, which has taken up spraying of DDT in all earnestness, is handing out medicated mosquito nets, besides launching cleanliness drives, in all malaria-prone zones.

Apart from this, officials in the rebel-hit zones of Petarwar, Gomia, Nawadih and Upar ghat, which are traditionally known to bear the brunt of this vector-borne disease, have been directed to stay alert and convene regular medical camps to detect and check the spread of malaria.

According to reports available with the district malaria department, close to 2,815 people have tested positive for the disease between January and October this year. The figures, which are just for state-run Bokaro general and Tenughat hospitals, did not take into account the cases that might have been registered with private nursing homes and clinics of the state.

Of the 2,815 cases registered, 2,098 had tested positive for plasmodium vivax while the remaining 717 had shown symptoms of plasmodium falciparum.

“Falciparum or malignant is the most deadly form of the disease, while vivax is the most recurring one,” explained Bokaro civil surgeon Mithilesh Kumar, adding that a total of 16,6005 blood samples had been collected by them so far. He, however, happily stated that there had been no reports of any death so far.

District malaria officer Anil Kumar Poddar, chose to break down the figures before The Telegraph, stating that Petarwar had recorded the highest number of vivax cases in the district with 262, and Gomia and Nawadih record 61 and 43 cases each. Nawadih, on the other hand, had notched up the maximum number of falciparum cases so far at 603, with Kasmar and Bermo witnessing 286 and 198 cases respectively.

Highly placed sources said that the state health department had allotted more than Rs 1.90 crore for the district in the last 15 months to be distributed among the 1,429 health centres of the district fighting the vector-borne disease.

“People in rebel-hit zones should wake up to the situation and try staying cleaner. They should also get rid of any stagnant water and ensure that DDT is sprayed regularly in their area,” Poddar said.