Dengue menace: Delhi Govt. preparing to open 350 clinics

With the threat of dengue rearing its head again in the national capital as a 17-year-old girl succumbed to the vector-borne disease in a city hospital last week, Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Tuesday said the Delhi Government is preparing to open 350 clinics.

"The Delhi Government has the part of treatment. It will be very difficult to say that there won't be dengue from tomorrow. Last year we opened 55 dengue clinics. This time we are preparing to open 350 dengue clinics. 95 percent of cases can be treated at home," Jain told ANI.

Jain said the government has never stated that dengue has ended in India

"We have made preparation for treatment of dengue patients. We have held many meetings as well. There are two things for dengue-prevention and cure. Preparation is the part of the corporation. They are doing the work of prevention," he added.

The national capital has recorded its first dengue casualty of 2016 to the vector-borne disease.

Senior health officials confirmed that the death has been reported by the Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital in the city.

The deceased has been identified as Farheen, who died at the city hospital at 1:46 a.m. where she was undergoing treatment.

As of July 16, a total of 50 patients have been confirmed this year. Last year, there had been 29 cases of dengue recorded as of July 16. Delhi had seen a record-high number of cases last year, with 15,867 recorded cases of the disease.

Earlier, Jain said around 250-300 fever clinic corners would be set up in the hospitals, dispensaries and mohalla clinics by September.

"Right now, we need to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Since very few cases are from within Delhi, treatment facilities don't need to be scaled up right now," he said.