Delhi witnessed the worst outbreak of Chikungunya in almost a decade last year.
New Delhi:
According to a data released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 79 cases of chikungunya and 24 cases of dengue have been recorded in the national capital this year between the months of January and April. Of the 79 cases of chikungunya, addresses were unavailable for 37 patients whereas about 14 patients had addresses that were untraceable. It was also found that 22 people had contacted the disease in other states. Similarly, of the 24 recorded cases of dengue, nearly 11 had been acquired outside Delhi before being reported in the national capital.
"A large number of cases of vector-borne diseases actually come to Delhi from neighbouring states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh," said Dr BK Hazarika, municipal health officer, SDMC.
While authorities said that a breakdown of these figures paint a less alarming picture, senior officials admitted that the nexus of data collection excludes many privately-run clinics, which don't share data on these diseases.
Incidents of underreporting are also common, according to a senior official, since no public health department wants to be seen in a bad light, especially when it comes to vector-borne diseases.
The absence of data can't be taken to mean the absence of vectors or vulnerability. Municipal authorities conceded that proper data was not being provided from hospitals to ensure a timely intervention at the grassroots level. They said that data ambiguity is a major problem.
"We have even made WhatsApp groups linking health departments to individual resident welfare associations. But as long as the data we get is incomplete, how can we address it properly," said a health department official.
Delhi witnessed the worst outbreak of Chikungunya in almost a decade last year, with nearly 12,221 reported cases. Thus, municipal authorities are not taking any chances this year
Over 13,000 houses have already been fumigated across the national capital, based on last year's data of vulnerable zones. However, this is only a fragile solution as pollution is a big fall-out of the fogging process and inhaling large amounts of anti-vector sprays can lead to respiratory issues.
"Fogging only helps in later stages, not when the vector is in the larvae stage," a senior health officer said.
"We need to ensure that our interventions don't create panic even whilst we try to prevent a sense of alarm," she added.
"A large number of cases of vector-borne diseases actually come to Delhi from neighbouring states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh," said Dr BK Hazarika, municipal health officer, SDMC.
While authorities said that a breakdown of these figures paint a less alarming picture, senior officials admitted that the nexus of data collection excludes many privately-run clinics, which don't share data on these diseases.
Incidents of underreporting are also common, according to a senior official, since no public health department wants to be seen in a bad light, especially when it comes to vector-borne diseases.
The absence of data can't be taken to mean the absence of vectors or vulnerability. Municipal authorities conceded that proper data was not being provided from hospitals to ensure a timely intervention at the grassroots level. They said that data ambiguity is a major problem.
"We have even made WhatsApp groups linking health departments to individual resident welfare associations. But as long as the data we get is incomplete, how can we address it properly," said a health department official.
Delhi witnessed the worst outbreak of Chikungunya in almost a decade last year, with nearly 12,221 reported cases. Thus, municipal authorities are not taking any chances this year
Over 13,000 houses have already been fumigated across the national capital, based on last year's data of vulnerable zones. However, this is only a fragile solution as pollution is a big fall-out of the fogging process and inhaling large amounts of anti-vector sprays can lead to respiratory issues.
"Fogging only helps in later stages, not when the vector is in the larvae stage," a senior health officer said.
"We need to ensure that our interventions don't create panic even whilst we try to prevent a sense of alarm," she added.
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