Four private hospitals in the city are now providing free malaria treatment, which was hitherto confined to the Government Wenlock Hospital in Mangalore and the Primary Health Centres across the district.
Speaking at a training programme for journalists, District Vector Borne Disease Control Officer S.B. Arun Kumar said free treatment was being provided at the Srinivasa Hospital Mukka, A.J. Hospital and Father Muller’s Hospital. The free treatment facility started at the K.S. Hegde Hospital in Deralakatte a few days ago, Dr. Kumar said.
Dr. Kumar said 3,612 persons had been diagnosed with malaria in the last seven months in the district and a majority of them were from Mangalore. There had been 129 cases of dengue and two cases of Filaria in the district.
Mukta, Assistant Entomologist, District Vector Borne Disease Control Officer, spoke about ways of larval control that prevented breeding of mosquitoes that transmit malaria and other vector borne diseases. Ms. Mukta emphasised on the need for regular scrubbing of utensils in which drinking water was stocked in the house to remove larva of the mosquito.
Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K.N. Vijaya Prakash expressed the need to generate awareness about vector-borne diseases among schoolchildren.
Mr. Prakash said a programme was being worked out by the Health and Family Welfare Department to cover 3.14 lakh students studying the primary and secondary schools in the district.
Outside the programme venue, the Father Muller’s Hospital had displayed exhibits showing the lifecycle of the mosquitoes transmitting Malaria, Dengue and Filaria.
