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New Delhi, July 8
Cases of malaria have spiked in the Capital with as much as 51 persons affected by it in June, three times the number of people affected with dengue reported in the same month.
According to a municipal report released on Monday, the total number of malaria and dengue cases reported this year till July 6 stand at 60 and 26, respectively. Last year, 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths were recorded by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates the data on vector-borne diseases in the city.
As per the data released in the report 51 malaria cases were reported in June, eight in May, and one in April. Of the total 26 dengue cases, 15 were reported in June, three in May, two in April, four in March and one each in January and February. Twelve cases of chikungunya — two in February and one each in March, April and May, and seven in June — have been recorded, it said. The dengue victims last year included a minor boy. Three of the victims were identified as Aman Tiwari (13), Sanskriti (21) and Gagan (23).
Doctors have advised people to take precautions to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquito larvae around them. They have urged people to wear full sleeves and use mosquito nets. Water coolers should be dried up when not in use as mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus usually breed there, a doctor said.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch to mid-December. As the season for spread of the diseases has kicked in, the city health department and local bodies are gearing up to check any possible outbreak of dengue, as its virus thrives during this period.
Mosquito breeding has been reported in at least 33,957 households and 34,221 legal notices have been issued this year. According to the SDMC, 10 people died due to dengue in Delhi in 2017, of whom five were not residents of the Capital. Overall, the vector-borne disease affected 9,271 people in the city in 2017. — PTI
Seasonal threat
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