How Much Do Delhiites Know About Dengue and Chikungunya?

The twin onslaught of dengue and chikungunya has created havoc in Delhi. Amid all of this, The Quint takes to the streets of the national capital to find out how well the Delhiites are aware of the menace.

Dispelling the Myths & Misconceptions

Standing by a littered field in Noida, Anurag Yadav shies away from looking into the camera. He’s been told that sharing ‘lunch’ with an infected person could make him ill. Unable to bear the weight of his school sack, Yadav, hurries in the direction of an open water fountain buzzing with mosquitoes.

The threat of chikungunya and dengue lurks around in Rohit’s slum. Seated next to a water canal, the young slum dweller spells out how one should discard coconut shells with great care. When asked about how chikungunya spreads, Rohit quickly adds that it is not contagious. This, is in stark contrast to what Anurag’s been told by his parents.

Although caused by the same mosquito, dengue can lead to death while Chikungunya is medically classified as non-fatal. However, there have been 13 deaths due to chikungunya since the current outbreak began.

How Do Dengue or Chikungunya Spread?

• Dengue and Chikungunya can only spread through the bite of an Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
  
• Sharing food or shaking hands cannot transmit the virus from an affected person to a healthy one.
  
• The Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes could be breeding in that flower pot in your drawing room.
  
• Mosquitoes can breed in relatively clean water that you’ve been storing away.
  
• The Aedes Aegypti mosquitio is known to be active during the day, leaving people exposed to lethal bites.
  

Dengue’s Death Dance

In Delhi alone, the death toll for dengue stands at 14, followed closely by its bone-breaking cousin, Chikungunya at 13. At least 1,000 people in the region have tested positive for Chikungunya, while more than 1,500 are said to be reeling under dengue fever. At the national level, the combined figure of those affected by dengue & chikungunya stands at 40,000.

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam