Malaria cases spike in Delhi, 51 cases reported in June

Cases of malaria have spiked in the national capital with at least 51 persons affected by it in June this year, three times the number of people affected with dengue reported in the same month, a municipal report released Monday said.

The total number of malaria and dengue cases reported this year till July 6 stand at 60 and 26 respectively.

Last year, 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths were recorded by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates the data on vector-borne diseases in the city.

According to the report, this year 51 malaria cases were reported in June, eight in May, and one in April.

Of the total 26 dengue cases, 15 were reported in June, three in May, two in April, four in March and one each in January and February.

Twelve cases of chikungunya -- two in February and one each in March, April and May, and seven in June -- have been recorded, it said.

The dengue victims last year included a minor boy. Three of the victims were identified as Aman Tiwari (13), Sanskriti (21) and Gagan (23).

Doctors have advised people to take precautions to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquito larvae around them. They have urged people to wear full-sleeves and use mosquito nets.

Water coolers should be dried up when not in use as mosquitoes carrying the 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.

As the season for spread of vector-borne diseases has kicked in, the city government's health department and local bodies are gearing up to check any possible outbreak of dengue, whose virus thrives during this period.

Mosquito-breeding has been reported in at least 33,957 households and 34,221 legal notices have been issued this year.

Also, 473 cases of malaria and 165 cases of chikungunya were reported last year.

According to the SDMC, 10 people had died due to dengue in Delhi in 2017, of whom five were not residents of the national capital.

Overall, the vector-borne disease had affected 9,271 people in the city in 2017.