Hyderabad July 24: Several areas in the state including the Hyderabad urban zone and tribal districts are under the grip of malaria. Around 9,687 people have tested positive for the disease this year and at least 37,000 people suspend to be suffering from various fevers including malaria and viral infection. The increasing mosquito menace during the rainy season is the prime reason for the rise in cases of malaria. But authorities are not doing much to contain this problem. Incidence of malaria is more in Hyderabad zone, Kadapa in Rayalaseema, Nalgonda, Adilabad and Khammam in Telangana when compared to last year. At the same time, it has come down slightly in tribal districts such as Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari and Visakhapatnam though the number of cases is high. "The number of cases of malaria has increased in Hyderabad because of lack of sanitation and improper cleaning,' said the Director (Health), Dr D. Ramesh Chandra. "We are collecting information from all sources including private hospitals.' In Hyderabad zone alone, 844 cases of malaria were reported when compared to 448 last year. "In the city, we have 185 cases when compared to 103 in the corresponding period of 2007,' said Dr Chandra. The Hyderabad District Medical and Health Officer, Ms Ch. Jaya Kumari, said that three cases of suspected Dengue had also been confirmed in the zone. "We are operating mobile clinics and those affected can also get treatment from public health centres,' she said. "Health workers are also making house to house visits. Drainage is not cleaned properly and in areas such as Himayatnagar and Ashok Nagar, apartments have been constructed on nalas,' said Dr Chandra. He further said that the incidence in these places was high. According to doctors, most the fevers were being caused by airborne viruses. "At least 20 to 25 cases are reported every day in the hospital,' said Dr P.P. Prasad, superintendent of the Fever Hospital. "Running nose and throat infection are the common symptoms. But we have not been getting too many malaria cases.' The GIS mapping by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme had revealed that majority of the 60 most malaria endemic districts were in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The nine Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) project areas of Adilabad, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Warangal and Mahbubnagar are malaria-prone zones. Migrant tribals who have come in from Chhattisgarh and Orissa and staying in Khammam and Andhra Orissa Border have also fallen ill. Kadapa, with 807 cases, has recorded highest increase in the number of malarial cases when compared to 689 last year. The attitude of authorities only compounded matters. They have distributed mosquito nets among tribals. However, they did not provide information on how to use it. Consequently, the tribals used them as fishing nets. People have also not been made aware that rice fields, roadside ditches near culverts, rainwater puddles and small streams are breeding places of mosquitoes. Overhead tanks in houses and commercial establishments are not covered with lids and they are not cleaned regularly. Mosquitoes are also breeding happily in them. As usual, authorities are planning to carry out fogging operations as well as spraying of synthetic pyerthroids in the stagnated pools. "We are also focusing on conducting medical camps in the affected areas. This time, medical camps are being conducted in schools, hostels and weekend markets,' said Mr Chandra. Further, officials are taking blood smear samples in health camps conducted as part of Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme to test for malaria incidence. "We have intensified fever surveillance at primary health care centre level,' said Dr Chandra. However, there is a need to strengthen surveillance and train the technical staff in laboratory diagnosis of malaria. It is also difficult for the medical staff to reach hilly terrain without effective transportation. "We want to bring down the number of malaria affected by 30 to 50 percent by 2012,' said Dr Chandra.