According to the mosquito-borne disease report released on Monday by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the weekly count of dengue cases in the nation's capital has increased over the past week by a factor of two, with Delhi reporting 56 new dengue cases since then.
24 dengue cases have been reported in the city during the previous seven-week period.
The total number of dengue cases reported up until July 28 has increased by 56, bringing the total to 243 cases.
The number of dengue cases at this time is the greatest it has been in the previous six years.
The city had reported 169 dengue cases during the same time period in 2022, 52 cases in 2021, and 31 cases in 2020, as opposed to the 243 dengue cases reported between January 1 and July 28, 2023.
An MCD official claimed that in addition to the city's recent floods and waterlogging, the increase in instances can also be ascribed to the disease's designation as a notifiable illness last year, which improved reporting from healthcare facilities.
According to the zonal breakdown of these 243 incidents, 129 of them originated in MCD districts, 17 in the NDMC zone, 12 in the Delhi cantonment areas, 5 were within the jurisdiction of the Railways, and 80 were unsolved despite extensive inquiry.
The West Zone, South Zone, and Najafgarh Zones have recorded the most incidences within the MCD jurisdiction boundaries.
The Delhi government's health department had carried out dengue virus genome sequencing and discovered that 19 out of 20 samples were type 2 dengue, which is regarded as being more deadly.
The Delhi government has released its vector-borne disease control action plan for this year, which calls for the use of drones for mosquito surveillance and control in vulnerable areas, the use of the existing 1031 helpline number, which was used to facilitate dengue treatment during the COVID pandemic, and the assistance of ASHA workers to raise public awareness about dengue prevention.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister, examined the city's dengue readiness on Friday.
The government has doubled fines for unregulated mosquito breeding to $1,000 for individuals and $5,000 for business facilities as part of its attempts to stop the spread of dengue.
The Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs), who are employed by the public health department to stop the spread of diseases carried by mosquitoes in Delhi, have organized a nationwide strike that will begin on Monday after consultative sessions between the civic body and unions failed to come to an agreement.
The DBC union is requesting that their unpaid wages be paid as well as the regularization of their services as company permanent employees.
The union's president, Devanand Sharma, claimed that the employees also experience two- to three-month salary delays.
"The written promises made following the most recent strike in March 2022 have not been kept. We're fighting for our fundamental human rights, Sharma remarked.
The public health agency uses DBCs to find mosquito breeding grounds, manage mosquito populations with larvicide and fogging, and spread knowledge about vector-borne diseases.
The type 2 strain of dengue is deadly, according to Dr. Sumit Ray, head of the Department of Critical Care Medicine and medical director at Holy Family Hospital. Because there is no cure for dengue, medical professionals instead concentrate on treating its repercussions.
He stated, "The disease must be controlled at the source, mosquito breeding, and mosquito bites need to be prevented."
