Larval Source Management (LSM) in urban India

The Indian National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP) was launched in 1958 using indoor residual spraying (IRS) for all roofed structures, except for those in urban areas where larval source management (LSM) was recommended [2]. While malaria incidence declined overall, urban malaria increased during the 1960s especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, partly due to the expansion of urban slums, population movement and lack of adequate waste water disposal. This was first recognised as a specific public health problem in 1969 by the Madhok Committee. The Urban Malaria Scheme (UMS) was sanctioned in 1971 and 23 towns were initially selected, before the Scheme was expanded to 131 towns in 19 states, the population of which was 112 million in 2009 [1]. The major objective of the UMS is to control malaria through good case management and LSM, since IRS is not accepted by the majority of the urban population [2]. The UMS targets the vectors of dengue, filariasis and Japanese Encephalitis in addition to malaria vectors. This document outlines the general structure of the UMS and its impact. s