At least 756 fresh cases of dengue were reported in the city over the last week of September, taking the number of people affected by the vector-borne disease this season to 3,865, according a municipal report released on 3 October.
The numbers of malaria and chikungunya cases recorded in the city till 30 September stood at 995 and 589 respectively, the report said.
While the municipal report said that Dengue has claimed only one life in the city during the season so far, The Statesman reported of another person who succumbed to dengue at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on 5 October.
The cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end. The cases of all the three vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier this time.
Doctors had attributed this to an early arrival of monsoon.
Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water. The anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.
According to the report, breeding of mosquitoes has been reported from 1,74,593 households in Delhi.
The Directorate General of Health Services in Delhi issued an advisory to all private hospitals and nursing homes to take adequate steps to counter the influx of the vector-borne disease in the Delhi-NCR region.
“In view of this, it has been decided to allow all Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes to increase the bed strength up to 10-20% of their approved bed strength on temporary basis for 6 months.”
The hospitals have also been advised to accommodate extra beds in the existing wards depending on space availability, and they shall not deny treatment to any patient of Dengue/Chikungunya and fever requiring indoor care.
All the three municipal corporations have stepped up the awareness drives. They are distributing pamphlets and plying vehicles with loudspeakers issuing dos and don’ts for the prevention of these diseases.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the city has banned the over-the-counter sale of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Aspirin and Brufen as their use may "pose a threat" to the dengue and chikungunya patients. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 4 October asked city residents to devote ten minutes everyday to inspect their household for signs of mosquito-breeding as a means of preventing dengue and chikungunya. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the ‘Perfect health Mela, a health fair organised from 4-8 October at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi by an NGO.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)