Mumbai: Between 2023 and 2025, 99 people died of leptospirosis, malaria and dengue out of 236 suspected fatalities reviewed by the BMC’s death audit committee, according to the latest RTI data.Of the 32 suspected leptospirosis deaths last year — which is typically contracted by wading through waterlogged areas contaminated with animal or rodent urine — 19 were officially confirmed. A total of 16 and 18 people were suspected of dying from dengue and malaria in the same timeframe, of which eight and seven cases respectively were confirmed last year.The data is part of the BMC’s response to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by activist Chetan Kothari. A doctor at one of the peripheral BMC-run hospitals said there is undercounting in these numbers due to certain testing norms required by the BMC’s death audit committee.For instance, for malaria, a rapid test detects parasite antigens in minutes, whereas a slide test involves smearing blood onto a glass slide and examining it under a microscope to visually identify and count parasites. “The slide test takes a longer time, but it is more reliable. For many hospitals, the burden of everyday cases is so high that a rapid test is done and the patient is treated accordingly,” the doctor said.Similarly, the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) tests are more reliable than rapid tests for dengue and leptospirosis. Past data from four suburban hospitals shows that in 2024, out of 1,634 rapid tests done for dengue, just 818 were tested using ELISA. One of the suburban hospital in-charges said, “These tests require more manpower and also take a longer time. We are frequently understaffed and overburdened.”
