Chikungunya cases up to 92, dengue cases reach 38 in city

With three more cases of Chikungunya in last week, a total of 92 cases has been reported this year so far.

Meanwhile, six new cases of dengue have also been registered taking the total tally to 38 in the Capital this year, according to a municipal report released on Monday.

As many as 4,431 cases of dengue were reported at the end of 2016, according to the report of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Out of the 92 chikungunya cases, 19 were recorded in April, while 34 were diagnosed in March. 20 cases were detected in January and 13 in February. Three cases have been registered this month.

Six cases of dengue were reported in January, four in February, 11 in March and as many in April, while six cases have been recorded in May.

On May 13, Kejriwal had chaired a high-level meeting of officers from the three municipal corporations and the Delhi government to discuss plans to eliminate vector-borne diseases in the national capital.

"Delhi will be made mosquito-free. We will have to get rid of mosquito-borne diseases. It will be made a people's movement. It is only possible with people's participation," Kejriwal had tweeted.

Till January 14, only two Chikungunya cases were reported, while no dengue case had been diagnosed till then.

Chikungunya and dengue cases had tapered off by December first week last year ending the vector-borne disease season in the city that witnessed its worst chikungunya outbreak in the last 10 years, but cases are still being registered, prompting authorities to go for early preparedness.

The municipal authorities had in March called an all-hands workshop on the prevention and control of the diseases to finalise a comprehensive action plan for combating the menace in the coming season.

In the workshop, SDMC Commissioner P K Goel had asked officials to "identify the cases of dengue and Chikungunya coming to Delhi from other states".

The LG on March 23 had held a review meeting with the three municipal commissioners on preparations to combat vector-borne diseases.

The season for the vector-borne diseases begins from mid-July and generally lasts till November-end.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Monday slammed the AAP government and civic agencies for failing to provide publicity - to create awareness among the people - to mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya, their symptoms, cure and different treatment remedies.