In another attempt to curb the spread of malaria in the city, experts from the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) on Friday educated private and public doctors on various lines
of treatment.

The experts claimed there was no evident resistance to anti-malarial drugs and the main reasons for the epidemic-like situation was indigenous transfer. The workshop was held at KEM Hospital in Parel.

"An ongoing multi-centric trial being conducted by the NIMR has shown that the first line of treatment is still very effective," said Dr Neena Valecha, assistant director, NIMR, adding that very negligible drug resistance was recorded in few people.

Valecha said there was no evidence to prove that the vivax strain had mutated.

Earlier this week, an NIMR team had surveyed the city and suggested a five-point plan to the civic body. Now, the scientists will be involved in educating as many doctors as possible to ensure that the correct line of treatment is being administered.

Dr Ramesh Chaturvedi, professor and head, preventive and social medicine, Sion Hospital, said the public should be aware that any kind of fever can cause complications of the heart. "Surveillance is a major concern as 80% malaria cases are not registered," he said.

According to NIMR, mosquito breeding is not confined to the basements of construction sites. "I visited an under-construction building and found mosquito larvae breeding on the 30th floor as well as in the basement," said NIMR scientist Dr Ashwani Kumar.

He said that out of the 1,000 construction workers, 800 lived in the slum nearby. "These infected people mingled with other locals spreading the disease," Kumar said.