The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city’s civic body, says that there has been a big rise in instances of malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and hepatitis in Mumbai over the past two months. This pattern is different from the fact that cases of leptospirosis and gastroenteritis have been going down at the same time.
The BMC’s Monsoon-Diseases report says that vector-borne diseases have become much more common in the city this year than they were at the same time last year. The numbers for the time between January and August show:
There were 5,706 instances of malaria this year, up from 4,021 last year.
Dengue: 2,319 cases, up from 1,979 last year.
Chikungunya: 485 cases, up a lot from 210 last year.
Hepatitis: 810 cases, up from 662 in 2024.
The research also pointed out that other diseases were getting better. This year, there were 471 cases of leptospirosis, down from 553 in 2024. There were also 5,774 cases of gastroenteritis, down from 6,133 last year.
The BMC said that the increase in vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue in July and August is in line with what has happened in the past. These infections usually peak in August, but the civic body was somewhat relieved to see that there hasn’t been an increase in gastroenteritis cases this year.
The civic authority has stepped up its public health measures in response to the rising numbers. The BMC checked 10,66,204 homes and took 1,84,602 blood samples in August alone to keep an eye on and stop the spread of these diseases. The city has also started a big public awareness campaign that has reached 3,284 housing societies and 264 schools. Also started was a targeted “Zero Mosquito Breeding Campaign” that focused on 545 structures.