545 dengue cases reported last week; over 1,700 for this season

NEW DELHI: With 545 cases of dengue reported in the national Capital over the last week, the total number of people affected by the disease this season has reached to 1,730, as per a report of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi released on Monday.

Meanwhile, the number of people affected by malaria this year, as of September 9, has climbed to 712.

The number for chikungunya cases stands at 432, with 40 new cases being reported previous week.

On August 1, a 12-year-old boy had succumbed to dengue shock syndrome at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, becoming the first reported casualty to the vector-borne disease in Delhi.

According to the MCD report, breeding of mosquitoes has been reported at 1.46 lakh households across Delhi.

To counter the spread of vector-borne diseases, all three municipal corporations have stepped up awareness their respective drives.

These include distributing pamphlets, and plying vehicles with loudspeakers issuing dos and don'ts for prevention of the diseases.

Meanwhile, experts have raised the red flag after the resurgence of a deadly malaria parasite and have advised government agencies to take adequate measures to arrest the spread of the infectious disease.

Officials of all three Corporations have claimed they are taking environment-friendly initiatives, such as introducing 'dengue-free' coolers and bringing in Gambusia fish in water bodies, at a war footing to fight the mosquito menace.

They also said that information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns have been intensified.

"The concept was developed by experts of Health department, after years of research and experiencing practical approach. The maximum breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which causes dengue and chikungunya, takes place inside desert coolers. So we have instructed manufacturers to sell dengue-free coolers," an official said.

The female Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.

Vector-borne diseases are mainly reported between mid-July and November-end.

However, this year, cases of all three vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier. Doctors attributed this to the early arrival of monsoon.

Last year, at least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported in Delhi in various hospitals, including the nine at AIIMS. The official tally, as per civic bodies, stood at 10.

Moreover, as many as 17 deaths suspected to be due to malaria were reported by civic bodies in 2016 .

At least 15 fatalities were reported last year at various hospitals in the city due to complications triggered by Chikungunya. However, civic bodies had reported the official death tally to be zero.

In one of the worst outbreaks, a total of 12,221 chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016, out of which 9,749 were confirmed.