NEW DELHI: Cases of dengue have spiked in the national capital with at least 111 of those being reported in the last one week, taking the total number of people affected by the vector-borne disease this year in Delhi to 467, according to a municipal report released on Monday.
The number of malaria cases recorded till October 12 has also risen to 459, it said.
October alone has seen 185 cases of dengue while 190 cases were reported in September.
However, 91 cases of malaria have been recorded this month till October 12 while September saw 214 cases.
Till October 5, the city had recorded 356 cases of dengue, marking a rise of 111 fresh cases in the past one week, according to civic authorities.
Of the total 467 dengue cases, August recorded 52 cases, July recorded 18, June witnessed 11 cases and the rest was registered between January and May, according to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates the data on vector-borne diseases in the city.
As many as 56 malaria cases were recorded in August, 54 in July, 35 in June, eight in May and one in April, it said.
Malaria cases had outstripped those of dengue in Delhi for the past several weeks, but dengue has once again eclipsed malaria as far as the infection count is concerned in Delhi.
According to the report, at least 118 cases of chikungunya have also been reported this year.
Last year, 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths were recorded by the SDMC. It had also reported 473 cases of malaria and 165 cases of chikungunya.
Both the Delhi government and local bodies have been making efforts to raise awareness on precautions to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquito larvae.
The AAP government has started an anti-dengue campaign ’10Hafte, 10Baje, 10Minute’ urging people to inspect their house for any standing water.
The campaign from September 1 and November 15 to combat dengue has garnered support from several personalities, including cricket legend Kapil Dev, many Bollywood actors and well-known journalists.
During a press conference on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said, “In five years, the number of dengue cases reported have come down by 80 per cent. We have tried to reduce it even further. This year, fortunately, there is no spike in it and it is because all the people have come together, from the Delhi government to the Centre and the MCD”.
Dengue mosquito larvae breed in clear, standing water while those of malaria mosquito thrive even in dirty water.
Doctors have advised people to take precautions and ensure that there is no breeding of mosquito larvae around them. They have urged people to wear full-sleeves clothes and use mosquito nets.
Water coolers should be dried up when not in use as mosquitoes carrying dengue virus usually breed there, a doctor said.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch to mid-December.
Meanwhile, mosquito-breeding has been reported in at least 1,55,921 households and 1,24,589 legal notices have been issued this year.
From public schools to government office premises, 72 institutions have been penalised by civic authorities in north Delhi in the last five months for breeding of mosquito larvae in their premises, officials had earlier said. PTI
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