Dengue cases cross 1,000 mark, 524 of malaria

NEW DELHI: With 418 fresh cases of dengue recorded last month alone, the number of dengue cases in Delhi has reached to a staggering 1,185 this year, as per the report released by the three municipal corporations of Delhi on Monday.

Meanwhile, 110 cases of malaria and 88 cases of chikungunya have also been reported during this period, taking the total tally the two diseases this year to 592 and 398, respectively.

Of the 1,185 cases, 604 affected people were residents of Delhi, while the rest were patients from other states.

Of the 604 cases of Delhi residents, 418 were reported this month.

According to the report, breeding of mosquitoes has been reported at 1,38,590 households in Delhi.

All three civic bodies have stepped up awareness drives, by distributing pamphlets and plying vehicles with loudspeakers, issuing dos and don'ts for prevention of the diseases.

Meanwhile, East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday conducted a meeting to make councillors aware about vector-borne diseases and discussed initiatives to prevent the menace.

East Delhi Mayor Neema Bhagat said the objective of the meeting was to brief councillors about these diseases and measures to prevent them, so that they can take appropriate action in their respective wards.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) had earlier found two new mosquito species, Anopheles stephensi (urban vector) and Anopheles culicifacies (rural vector), breeding this year.

The parasitic infection was lying dormant after mutating, but has made a comeback after a gap of five years.

Experts have also raised the red flag after resurgence of the deadly parasite and have advised government agencies to take adequate measures to arrest the spread of malaria

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

Cases of all the three vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier this time, which doctors had attributed to the early arrival of the monsoon.

Dengue and Chikungunya are caused by Aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water. Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.

At least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported last year at various hospitals, including the nine at AIIMS, though the official tallies of the civic bodies stood at 10.

12 deaths suspected to be due to malaria in 2016 were also reported by the municipal corporations.