While the rains are yet to arrive in its full glory' the BMC’s insecticide department has already started gathering ammo to fight monsoon-related diseases that are making a quick comeback. Over the last week' government hospitals in the city have witnessed several patients with symptoms of joint pain' fever and cough' and even those detected positive for malaria.

As part of its monsoon preparedness' the BMC’s insecticide department has roped in 360 additional workers' taking the total manpower to 2'700. The team will be working ward-wise to curtail the breeding of anopheles and aedes mosquitoes' which are known to cause malaria and dengue respectively. "We’ve already started getting pre-monsoon ailment patients with typical viral infection — fever' body ache' weakness etc. Cases of malaria are also gradually increasing with every passing day'" said a
doctor from a South Mumbai clinic.