Sirsa CMO exhorts public to take preventive steps against malaria
Sirsa Civil Hospital hosted an event in observance of World Malaria Day. The conference was presided over by civil surgeon Dr. Mahendra Bhadu, and those in attendance included epidemiologist Dr. Sanjay Kumar, deputy civil surgeon (health), deputy civil surgeon (training), and deputy civil surgeon (malaria).
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Bhadu urged people to take preventative action to fight vector-borne illnesses at the event. He explained that because stagnant water was a breeding ground for mosquitoes, it was important to keep the area free of standing water to avoid malaria.
Speaking about the precautions, he stated that all water containers needed to be covered, and that water sources such as tanks, coolers, pots, bird and animal containers, and other items were to be cleaned and replenished every week.
He advised residents to make sure that water did not remain outside their homes for more than a week since stagnant water is where mosquitoes lay their eggs, which spreads malaria.
According to Dr. Bhadu, the Health Department is totally dedicated to attaining the target of having no malaria in India by 2030. Consequently, he said, there have been a lot fewer occurrences of malaria over the last three years, and there have been no recorded malaria-related fatalities in the area.
Dr. Bhadu said that teams from the Health Department were actively touring highly inhabited areas, including slums, to examine water sources and get resident samples in an effort to avoid dengue and malaria.
Dr. Gaurav Arora, the district malaria control officer, emphasized the value of community involvement in addition to the department’s efforts to eradicate malaria. To raise public knowledge about malaria prevention, block to district-level events will be planned that include quizzes, poster contests, and awareness rallies. Schoolchildren, volunteers, and departmental teams will be included in these programs.
Eight cases of malaria were reported in Sirsa in 2021, seven in 2022, and eight in 2023. The government has released 31,000 malaria-related slides so far, and in 2024, offenders will get 179 notifications.
In addition, the Health Department’s assessment led to the designation of 20 densely inhabited colonies in the city as being on alert status. Residents in locations where water stagnation is a problem are being protected against mosquitoes by measures including fogging and the provision of repellents.
These areas are the following: Mela Ground, Subhash Basti, Mahavir Colony, Ther Mohalla, Peer Basti, Kuchiya Mohalla, Goshala Road, Sanjay Colony, Ekta Basti, Chandmari Dhani, Bajigar Mohalla, Chandigarh Mohalla, Prem Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Chandigarh Mohalla, and Kuchiya Mohalla.
