Jamshedpur: Malaria has rapidly spread beyond Potka block to the Ghatsila, Dumaria and Musaboni blocks in East Singhbhum district, with health teams detecting 243 positive cases on Thursday. The cases were identified from 3,530 malaria tests conducted across the four affected blocks during the day.According to officials, Dumaria reported the highest number of cases with 109 testing positives out of 550, followed by Potka with 64 out of 1,223, Musaboni with 42 out of 525 tests, and Ghatsila with 28 out of 1,232 tests.Civil surgeon Dr Sahir Pall said the situation in Potka, which has emerged as the district’s malaria hotspot, showed signs of improvement.“Compared to yesterday, there has been a decline in the number of positive cases in Potka. On Wednesday, 124 cases were detected from 1,175 screenings,” he said. On Wednesday, the district had reported 295 malaria cases from the three blocks of Potka, Dumaria and Ghatsila.Between June 25 and June 30, Potka alone recorded four malaria-related deaths, 50 cases of cerebral malaria and 68 cases of uncomplicated malaria.Meanwhile, a state-level team comprising director of health services, Dr Siddharth Sanyal, and vector-borne disease expert and state consultant Dr Sangya Singh visited the affected villages to assess the situation. The officials directed the district health administration to organise more health camps, intensify screening drives and undertake sanitation campaigns in the affected areas.Pall said 25 health teams have been deployed in each affected block to conduct health camps. Each team consists of a physician, an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and three multipurpose workers (MPWs).He added that 17 doctors from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH), along with MPWs from neighbouring districts, have been engaged to strengthen the response in the affected villages.The health department has also launched a mass awareness campaign to educate villagers about preventive measures against malaria.“Street plays attract large crowds in villages, so we have deployed separate teams of artists to spread awareness through nukkad nataks,” Pall said.Villagers have been advised to sleep under properly secured mosquito nets and maintain cleanliness in and around their homes to prevent mosquito breeding, he added.Notably, state health department too on Wednesday asked all districts to remain alert over malaria cases.
