Delhi logs over 5,000 dengue cases, more than 352 of malaria

The National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC) has said that as of mid-September of this year, more than 5,000 Dengue cases were reported in Delhi.

However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had not provided any recent data on vector-borne diseases in the city, with their last weekly report dating back to the first week of August.

MCD sources revealed that almost 5,000 cases of dengue had been reported in the city up to that point in the year.

The official website of NCVBDC, under the Union health ministry, stated that Delhi had seen 5,221 cases of dengue and one fatality due to the disease until mid-September.

In a meeting held at the Civic Centre, Mayor Shelly Oberoi reviewed the situation of vector-borne diseases with MCD’s Public Health Department officials.

They informed the mayor that urgent measures were being taken “on a war footing” to curb the spread of dengue and other vector-borne diseases in Delhi.

The officials assured Oberoi that the situation in Delhi was under control. The statement from the meeting emphasised that malaria was completely under control in Delhi, with 352 reported cases so far in the year.

Regarding chikungunya, the statement highlighted a significant reduction in cases. In 2018, there were 129 cases, 132 in 2019, 74 in 2020, 73 in 2021, and 38 in 2022. Only 29 cases had been reported up to that point in the current year.

The MCD’s efforts to combat the diseases included extensive fogging indoors and outdoors, using over 1,000 machines across 250 wards in Delhi.

The MCD was actively inspecting mosquito breeding sites at more than 1.5 lakh places daily, issuing notices and challans for non-compliance.

Mayor Oberoi expressed confidence that the MCD’s vigorous measures would lead to a reduction in dengue cases within the next 15 days. (With inputs from PTI)