830 dengue cases in Delhi, nearly 350 recorded in Oct

Dengue cases have mounted in the city, with at least 830 people being diagnosed with the vector-borne disease this season, over 42 per cent of which were reported this month, according to a municipal report released Monday.

The report says nearly 350 of the cases came to light in the first two weeks of this month alone.

Also, 385 cases of malaria and 97 of chikungunya have been reported this season till October 13, the report said.

Of the 830 dengue cases this year, 374 were recorded in September, 58 in August, 19 in July, eight in June, 10 in May, two in April, one in March, three in February and six cases in January.

Two cases of malaria were reported in February, one each in April and March, 17 in May, 25 in June, 42 in July, 82 in August, 138 in September and 77 till October 6, according to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates data on vector-borne diseases for the city.

A senior doctor at a government-run facility advised people to take all precautions like wearing full-sleeves and not allowing the breeding of mosquito larvae inside their homes.

"Water coolers should be dried up when not in use as dengue infection carrying mosquitoes breed there a lot. Mosquito nets should be used at home," the doctor said.

The cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch to mid-December. No vector-borne disease case was reported till January 13.

The report said domestic breeding checkers found mosquito breeding in 1,87,239 households in the city till October 13. It said 1,52,776 legal notices have been served for various violations and "26,388 prosecutions initiated".

As a pro-active measure, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had few a months ago directed local bodies and other agencies to intensify vector-control measures.

He had also asked for regular meetings at the level of district magistrates with all stakeholders to review the situation in their respective districts.

According to the SDMC, 10 people died due to dengue in Delhi last year, of whom five were not residents of the national capital.

Overall, the vector-borne disease had affected 9,271 people in the city last year.