Dengue Attacks begin in New Delhi

Even before the monsoons could officially hit the capital city of New Delhi, the deadly dengue attack had already marked its presence. According to estimates, as of Sunday, 5 cases of dengue and 21 cases of malaria have already been registered. Officials are of the opinion that the humid conditions that persisted in June led to an ideal breeding situation for mosquitoes.

Doctors and experts are of the opinion that the best way to stop the attack of dengue from spreading is by avoiding water stagnation. Water logged areas such as potholes, flower pots and unused coolers are ideal breeding grounds for the potentially life threatening Aedes mosquito.

In order to arrive at a correct estimate of the number of dengue cases in the city, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to enter those cases too which have been proved positive by the NS-1 antigen test. This test is mostly used by private hospitals and clinics. Earlier MCD used to only admit those cases into their databases which were proven positive with the IgM capture Elisa test.

In 2010, dengue attacks in New Delhi had claimed the lives of 8 unfortunate people and also left around 6500 ill. Considering the fact that the MCD has announced that compared to last year there has been an increase in the number of breeding sites around the city, the danger of dengue looms even more.

However, the biggest dengue related crisis that the city is about to face might come from the fact that the MCD’s dengue breeding checkers have threatened to go on strike. The checkers are responsible for detecting the breeding of larvae, and the spraying of larvicides in mosquito infested areas. The workers are demanding that MCD first clear their delayed salaries that have run up to 3 months now. As of now the MCD is trying to clear this logjam so that the spread of dengue can be kept in check this season.