Malaria spreading faster than dengue in city, says SDMC report

No fresh case of chikungunya was reported this past week

At least 11 fresh cases of malaria have been reported during the past week in Delhi, pushing the total number of people affected by the vector-borne disease this season to 40, said a report released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday.

The SDMC tabulates data for the entire city.

Only four fresh cases of dengue, another vector-borne disease, were reported in Delhi between June 16-23, meaning malaria was spreading faster than dengue in the Capital. Of the 40 malaria cases, 19 were reported in June, 17 in May, one each in April and March, and two in February.

Of the 28 dengue cases, six were reported in January, three in February, one in March, two in April and 10 in May and six in June, the report stated. No fresh case of chikungunya was reported in the past week, with the figure remaining at 14.

‘Not unusual’

“It is not unusual for malaria cases to be reported in larger number compared to dengue as both have different carriers,” a senior doctor at a government-run hospital said.

“However, people must take precautions like wearing full-sleeved clothes and not allowing breeding of mosquito larvae inside homes. Water coolers should be dried properly when not in use as dengue infection-carrying mosquitoes breed there a lot,” she said.

Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch to mid-December. No cases of vector-borne diseases were reported till January 13.

Mosquito breeding

The report also said that domestic breeding checkers found mosquito breeding in 38,021 households in the city till June 23. It said 44,020 legal notices were served for various violations and “3,073 prosecutions have been initiated”.