As dengue cases in the Capital remain at a low with 23 and 16 cases reported in January and February respectively, the numbers however, remain the highest for the two months in the last four years.
From 2017 to 2021, the case numbers for the months of January and February remained in single digits. In 2020 and 2021, the city recorded no cases in the month of January, while the month of February saw four and two cases of dengue respectively.
Last year, the Capital witnessed a massive surge with over 9,500 cases and 23 deaths (till December 31, 2021), the highest since 2015, when the city recorded 15,867 cases and 60 deaths.
Robust reporting
According to a senior official at the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which is also the nodal agency for data collection, the comparative increase in the current season’s cases “is mostly due to robust reporting of cases”.
He added, “These are not backlog cases, the case reporting in the previous years was fairly poor. Now, with disease becoming notifiable and with penalties in place, the reporting of cases has improved significantly.”
Strike hits checks
With workers deployed as mosquito breeding checkers, under the three corporations, going on an indefinite strike over regularisation of their services, the South Delhi civic body’s Standing Committee chairman, B.K. Oberoi, agreed that the strike has “slightly affected the checks”.
“We cannot rule out the climatic change that has taken place. Last year, Delhi witnessed an extended monsoon, and this year, winter has continued for a longer time. However, monitoring across the three civic bodies will now be throughout the season, instead of the months when cases usually peak. We hope to sort out the situation with the domestic breeding checkers in the coming days,” said Mr. Oberoi.
