Why are cases of Dengue in Delhi on the rise?
While Delhiites aren’t strangers to the city’s annual tryst with Dengue, this year seems to have caught us all off guard. The national capital has reported over 3,000 cases of Dengue and one fatality in the past six months, as per media reports. What’s even more alarming is that the numbers for September this year are at a four year high!
While the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has not released its weekly data on the number of Dengue cases and deaths for over 50 days now, they said Delhi has reported over 3,000 cases of Dengue in the past 6 months.
According to various experts, a new strain, DENV-2, seems to be driving the uptick in Dengue cases this year. The strain, severe and more dangerous, is known to cause a range of symptoms including high fever, nausea, rashes and even bleeding in rare cases.
A petition: Delhi’s tryst with Dengue
To help Delhi tackle the Dengue crisis, we kick-started a campaign that requires the Delhi Health Department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to consider the following:
Release month-wise data on the number of dengue cases and dengue-related deaths for this year– the last update was August 7, 2023
Put in place anti-dengue programs like fogging, door-to-door checking of stagnant water and awareness drives involving waste collectors, in a rigorous manner
Amp up the number of Domestic Breeding Checkers, currently there are approximately 3000 in different zones
Use of drones for sprinkling anti-mosquito larvicide, a trial run was conducted by MCD’s public health department, but nothing thereafter We continue to see open drains and manholes, garbage laden roads and even water logging in some parts. All these issues contribute to mosquito-breeding and are a threat to our health!
Here’s what you can do to stay safe
Dr. Gita Prakash, General Physician, Max Hospital, Delhi, assisted us to bring you some tips on how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from Dengue. Take a look!
