Mewat: Malaria has started spreading its tentacles in the state with 1,823 cases coming to light in various districts till Thursday.

Mewat: Malaria has started spreading its tentacles in the state with 1,823 cases coming to light in various districts till Thursday.

Nuh (earlier Mewat) district has recorded the maximum 1,103 cases, Palwal (180 cases), Yamunanagar (142), Panchkula (84), Hisar (48) and Faridabad (42). Three positive cases of dengue have also come to light this season – one each at Ambala, Hisar and Jind.

Since monsoon rains have just begun a few days back, the increasing number of malaria cases is worrying residents. Sources in the Health Department, however, claimed that the number of people affected by malaria this year was much lesser than last year, as 2,694 cases were detected by this date last year.

“Against 84 sanctioned posts of multipurpose health workers (MPHW), we have only 5 people working in the district. Similarly, against 13 posts of multipurpose health supervisors (MPHS), only 5 posts are filled. Going by the government norms of 1 MPHW for 5,000 people, the district should have 250 posts of MPHW,” said Nuh Civil Surgeon Dr Shri Ram Siwach. Against 11 posts of drivers, only one was working in the district, he said.

He said nearly 42 villages close to Punhana and Nuh town were the worst affected because of Ujina drain passing near there.

Maintaining that the Health Department has been carrying all malaria related activities like preparation of slides, distribution of medicines, anti-mosquito spray and distribution of larvaecidal drugs among people with 40-odd MPHWs received from other districts on deputation, Dr Siwach says that the situation is much better than last year.