Mumbai has witnessed a significant increase in cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most lethal strain of the disease. Data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reveals that reported cases surged from 375 in 2015 to 2,382 in 2025. This rise has escalated the proportion of total malaria cases attributed to this strain from 5.5% to 25.3%.
When his father started showing symptoms last week, the family initially thought it was fever that would disappear with over-the-counter medicines, according to Nitesh Dhide (39). Because people tend to treat the illness as a common flu, dr Hemalata Arora, internal medicine specialist at Nanavati Hospital, said patients with P. falciparum malaria often get sicker.
Doctors said both can lead to complications if patients delay treatment. There was also swelling in his liver,” he said, adding that he was diagnosed with P. falciparum malaria. But high-grade fever along with dehydration, nausea and vomiting calls for an immediate doctor visit. ” Dr Manjusha Agarwal, general physician at Gleneagles Hospital, said patients with P. falciparum often present with more severe headaches but respond well to treatment.
P. falciparum can cause severe organ failure, while the more common strain—P. vivax—is milder and mostly causes recurring relapses. “He experienced dark urine too, but it was not flagged in time. By the time we admitted him to hospital, he had developed anaemia. “Haemoglobin drops dramatically, alongside kidney dysfunction. In the first two days, one cannot easily distinguish between different fevers. “We have seen severe complications in P. vivax, too. If either strain is treated in time, there should not be much trouble.”