There has been a slight increase in the number of malaria cases in Delhi this year compared to the previous one.
According to the latest report by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), this year 202 malaria cases have been reported in Delhi so far while the number stood at 195 for the same time period last year.
Mosquito-borne diseases have seen an overall rise with 96 cases being reported last week, according to The Hindu.
The onset of monsoon has also led to an increase in the weekly number of cases of mosquito-borne diseases since the last week of August and in September.
The number of cases is at par with last year even as efforts are underway by the civic body and the Delhi government to keep mosquito breeding under check.
Besides malaria, the number of dengue cases stood at 122 this week, compared to 137 at the same time last year.
Forty cases of chikungunya, another mosquito-borne disease, have been reported so far compared to 47 at the same time last year.
Out of the cases of mosquito-borne diseases reported this week, 35 of the 48 malaria cases were “untraced”, while 30 were of dengue and 18 of chikungunya.
Over five lakh houses have been sprayed with insecticide and municipal staff has visited over 2.43 crore houses. Authorities have issued about 90,000 notices after finding “mosquitogenic conditions” at about one lakh locations.
Last year, 86.3% of the total 3,436 cases of mosquito-borne diseases were reported in Delhi between the months of September to December.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently launched a government campaign against dengue by inspecting his house for stagnant water and urged other citizens to do the same.
The SDMC has said that several schools and government offices have not yet made necessary arrangements to curb the mosquito menace.
“At many places, we found breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Notices and challans were issued to 130 government schools, police station, DTC depots, MTNL, BSES offices, DDA offices and dispensaries,” an SDMC official told Times of India after the civic body conducted an inspection drive in this regard.
“The breeding percentage at government establishments was higher than in residential areas. Despite disseminating information several times, we found mosquitogenic condition at several government officers,” the official was quoted as saying.
The ruling AAP and Delhi BJP have accused each other of playing politics over the issue.
Comments
0 comment