New Delhi: Dengue is rearing its head again in Delhi with total number of cases reported this year till first week of September reaching to nearly 1,260, the highest number for the period in the past five years.
According to a municipal report released today, out of the total cases reported till September 5, all fresh 428 cases were from this month.
The highest number month-wise is still August, with as many as 778 cases reported. Till August 31, a total of 831 cases were reported.
The alarming rise in the number of cases for the vector- borne disease in the capital has also put the civic bodies on their toes, all of which are now further intensifying their awareness-cum-prevention drive against it.
The number of cases from January 1 to September 5 for the last four years before 2015 are - 33 (2014), 255 (2013), 17 (2012), 104 (2011). For the same period in 2010, over 1,500 cases were reported.
Two casualties have been officially reported due to the vector-borne disease while a 10-year-girl, whose death in the first week of August, has been designated by the municipal bodies as a suspected dengue case.
With demand for platelets shooting up across the city, the Delhi Health Department has ordered all government blood banks to stock enough platelets and also asked private blood banks to ensure their availability at nominal rates.
"We have also asked medical superintendents of all the hospitals in Delhi to increase the capacity of beds in dengue wards to deal with the rising number of cases. We are consistently monitoring the situation," a senior Health Department official said.
At the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here, a new 35-bedded ward will soon be opened for dengue patients.
Out of the total cases, north Delhi recorded the highest at 511, south Delhi at 349 while east Delhi posted the lowest with 114 cases. Of all civic zones in the city, Narela Zone of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has recorded the highest number with 192 cases.
186 cases were reported from areas outside the jurisdiction of the municipal corporations in the city while 40 cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh and 13 from Haryana.
46 cases were reported from other states.
Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.
Till September 5, the number of houses found positive for mosquito breeding stands at 1,62,509 while number of prosecution launched in the same period is 14,445, according to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which compiles the report on behalf of all civic bodies.
Up till recently, the SDMC had issued over 80 challans to government and educational institutions in the city, including JNU, DDA, DTC and PWD for breeding of mosquitoes in their premises.
South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya today instructed officials to work round-the-clock in the field and implement all the guidelines for controlling dengue, malaria and chickengunia.
"Officials briefed the mayor regarding steps taken by them in the field and facilities provided by hospitals to the patient suffering from these diseases," a senior SDMC official said.
The mayor also directed officials that special emphasis be given to West Zone (106) and South Zone (102), where the number of cases reported are high. He added that special awareness drive be initiated among the school children to create awareness.
He also asked the zonal officials to take strict action against the defaulters. He said all the violations are to be noticed and strict prosecution action be taken.
According to SDMC, the two victims are ? three-year-old boy Shivam from Inderpuri and 37-year-old woman Mamta Rani from Narela, both belonging to north Delhi.
On August 5, the 10-year-old Manipur native girl from south Delhi had died at the AIIMS after a week of high fever, becoming the first suspected death victim of the vector-borne disease, though the municipal corporations did not consider the case, as the ELISA test was not conducted on her.
As per municipal norm, only ELISA test confirmed cases are taken in the official death count from the disease.
Arya said that institutions or individuals found violating for breeding of larva in their premises will be prosecuted.
He said till now 46,049 legal notices have been issued to the people and 703 prosecutions have been done for government institutions and premises, and this action will continue.
