Worst dengue outbreak in 5 years hits capital. Is Delhi prepared at all?

Delhi is witnessing the worst dengue outbreak in the last five years with a total of 1,259 cases being recorded till 5 September 2015. According to media reports, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation has confirmed that the numbers have been highest since 2010 when 1,512 cases were reported.

In the past month itself, there has been a 50 per cent jump in the number of patients in the past one month.

Here are few measures which are being adopted across the city to battle the outbreak:

1) The Delhi government has ordered immediate procurement of 1,000 new beds to accommodate dengue patients after the tragic double suicide by the parents of a seven-year-old boy, who died of the disease allegedly after being refused admission to five city hospitals.

2) City health minister Satyendar Jain has also suggested that hospitals may postpone surgeries if possible to free beds for dengue patients.

3) Strict orders have been issued to the staff of Municipal Corporations to visit their respective areas and fumigate it. All district magistrates, SDMs and tehsildars have been ordered to closely monitor dengue cases in their wards.The State government has declared that that it will take stern action against those who do not work properly.

4) The health department has also ordered all government blood banks to stock enough platelets and has also asked private blood banks to ensure their availability and sell them at nominal rates.

5) The Directorate of Health Services has also issued an advisory to all government and private hospitals directing them not to deny admission to patients affected by the vector-borne disease.

6) Aedes aegypti is the mosquito that spreads dengue. The municipal corporations across the city have been directed to alert their residents to prevent clean water collections so as to control the mosquito breeding. Directions for adoption of anti-larval measures by pouring repellent 'temephos' into stored water containers like over head tanks, dumped tyres, open or unsealed septic tanks and coconut shells have also been issued by the State government. The symptoms of dengue include fever, headache, muscle and joint paints and rash skin.

8) Salem Municipal corporation in the State of Karnataka is encouraging people to let the mosquito larvae-eating fish Kampuchea into water bodies like tanks and wells as they will control the breeding of mosquitoes. Such an approach could also be adopted across Delhi wherever there is accumulation of water.