With two malaria deaths since July, questions are being asked about Delhi's fight against the disease.
62-year-old Charan Singh was admitted with high fever to capital's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS in July. Less than three weeks later he was dead, the second patient to have died due to locally contracted malaria in less than two months.
An entire week after his death, authorities arrived at his home in East Delhi with fogging machines, his son Narendra Singh told NDTV. They were asked to fumigate after doctors at AIIMS had alerted the Delhi government's health department.
The program for control of vector borne diseases in India is actually quite comprehensive, but much of it remains to be operationalized says Dr Henk Bekedam of the World Health Organisation.
"The anti-malaria program is at par with others in the world, but India needs to step-up its public healthcare facilities, which can't be done without major effort. The first pillar of any such program must be stepped up surveillance. The other pillars are mosquito control and early diagnosis," Dr Bekedam explained.
It is good advice, and one that Sri Lanka took to heart in its fight against malaria. To aid surveillance Sri Lanka invested in mobile malaria clinics that diagnosed people quickly to start treatment. Other measures included community engagement and awareness programs along with targeted fumigation.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation declared Sri Lanka to be the second nation after Maldives in the Indian Ocean to have eradicated malaria.
India's capital is a good example of what all is wrong with our fight against malaria.
No fever surveys were conducted even after malaria deaths were reported from East Delhi. Successive governments have done little to upgrade primary health facilities. Public awareness campaigns are limited, and often insufficient. The focus remains largely on fumigation.
It is not enough. Despite fumigation by authorities, who arrived at Charan Singh's home a week after his death, his daughter-in-law recently contracted chikungunya.