100 dengue, 150 chikungunya cases recorded in Capital till June

Despite tall claims by the civic authorities to take adequate measures, rising cases of vector-borne disease in unabated. A fresh data, released by the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi, reveals the sordid state of affair as how the city is reeling under these deadly diseases.

After a severe Dengue outbreak in 2015 and deluge of Chikungunya cases in 2016, the city is likely to witness spurt of Malaria cases in monsoon season as the data of pre-monsoon period has witnessed sudden rise of such cases followed by Chikungunya and Dengue.

As per the data, the number of malaria cases in the national Capital has gone up to 113. Of these, 40 cases have been detected in June and 17 in May. While the number of Dengue cases has reached close to 100, the number of Chikungunya cases recorded in the city stood at nearly 150 till June 24.

Of the 113 people affected by malaria, 62 belonged to Delhi, while 51 of the infection cases diagnosed here were traced to other states.

Dengue and Chikungunya transmitted by Aedes agypti mosquito, while Malaria is caused by the plasmodium parasite that is passed from one human to another by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes, which can breed in fresh water and not in polluted one.

Of the 149 cases of Chikungunya, 11 have been recorded this month, even as authorities gear up to combat its possible outbreak. 97 cases of dengue have also been reported this season.

The agencies, in order to control the menace, have claimed to launch pilots project whereby hundreds dengue breeding checkers (DBCs) in select vulnerable regions have been armed with tablets to record data during an inspection of households and feed it to central control room in real time.

In its bid to combat the menace, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) had earlier launched a new technologically advanced application called Vector Borne Disease Control (VBDC) to cover 16 vulnerable wards identified on the basis of substantial breeding data localities.

"This will go a long way to develop a micro plan to completely eradicate the challenge of mosquitoes resulting in diseases like Dengue and Chikungunya. 200 'Dengue Breeding Checkers' (DBC) have been given tablet and uniform so that they will easily be identified," an SDMC official said.

SDMC Mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat had earlier said that the role of DBCs employees in prevention and control of vector borne diseases is crucial. As, the life cycle of mosquitoes is seven days, so checking breeding within seven days will certainly help in curbing the vector borne diseases.

"With 200 additional DBC workers, the Corporation is leaving no stone unturned to tackle the menace," the Mayor had said.

North and East Corporations have also claimed to step up awareness drive, through distribution of pamphlets and plying of vehicles carrying loudspeakers, issuing out do's and don'ts on prevention of vector-borne diseases.

The Delhi government on June 23 had issued instructions to state-run and private hospitals and nursing homes to increase their bed capacity by up to 20 percent for the next six months to deal with the possible outbreak of dengue and chikungunya.

The government has banned over-the-counter sale of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and brufen as their use may "pose a threat" to dengue and Chikungunya patients.

Though the season of vector-borne diseases had ended in December, the city continues to report such cases, prompting authorities to prepare a roadmap for the combat plan.