nWith seven fresh cases of malaria traced in last one week, the national Capital has witnessed a spurt in cases of vector borne disease. At least 27 cases of malaria and 53 cases of dengue have been reported this year till June 1, according to a data released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Monday.
Out of total cases of malaria, 18 cases diagnosed belong to the neighbouring states while 42 patients suffering from dengue traced in Delhi belong to other states. Meanwhile, there is no news cases of Chikungunya reported in the city.
Concerned over increasing number of cases of vector borne disease, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has launched a two month campaign in all the 104 wards to create awareness among the residents.
SDMC Mayor Suneeta Kangra while inaugurating the campaign from a school building under Madipur ward, stressed upon the need of making united efforts against outbreak of water borne diseases.
Addressing the gathering of children and residents, Kangra said that the fear of mosquitoes breeding becomes more during rainy season. “The substantial breeding becomes a cause of the outbreak of the dengue and chikungunia. There is no treatment of these diseases and it require due care and caution,” she said, adding that these diseases are gaining ground only because of our negligence.
The experts from the public health department requested residents to take precautionary measures. They also advised residents to clean all utensils, coolers, flower pots and other items which are conducive to the accumulation of water every week thoroughly.
The Mayor described children as ambassadors of the cleanliness which is most important in containing breeding. She stated that there is no need of panic as 90 per cent cases can be treated at home.
According to the report, the north, south and east corporations have found
mosquito breeding in 15374 households in the city till June 1,” As per the weekly data released by the SDMC. The report further stated that 16593 legal notices have been served to owners of houses, hotels and others for various violations and 794 prosecutions initiated till June 1.
Among the areas falling under the three municipal corporations, the cases of breeding reported were from areas of north, south and east corporations are 4450, 7911 and 3013 respectively, the report stated.
A senior north Corporation official said that the regarding zonal officials have been directed take precautionary measures and to ensure there was no breeding of mosquito larvae inside the houses.
Usually cases of vector-borne diseases are reported between July and November but this year civic body has traced many cases in months of March and April. With spurt in number of cases, civic bodies have stepped up awareness campaign and deployed Dengue Breeding Checkers (DBCs) in various wards in order to check breeding and advising people to take precautionary measures.
According to the SDMC, 10 people had died due to dengue in Delhi in 2017, of which five were not residents of the national capital.