Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday said the number of sites where mosquito larvae-breeding is being found in the national capital has "plateaued", and a city-wide awareness campaign will be launched to combat vector-borne diseases.
Asked about the dengue cases situation in Delhi, Bharadwaj told reporters, "Last week, we held a meeting with officials of the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), health department. During that meeting, MCD (officials) shared data with us and it shows that the number of sites where mosquito breeding is being found has reached a plateau".
"I have directed the health department and the chief secretary to run a city-wide campaign for raising awareness as we approach the peak season of dengue. The campaign has not been run this time," he added.
Advertisement
Bharadwaj said fogging is being done in all 250 wards of Delhi.
The national capital recorded 348 dengue cases till August 5, according to an MCD report released on August 7.
The MCD has not released reports on dengue and other vector-borne diseases for the last several weeks even as a senior civic official last week claimed that it is "doing its regular job" to contain their spread and the "situation is under control".
The MCD usually releases weekly reports on cases of vector-borne diseases every Monday.
Several hospitals in Delhi are seeing an increased footfall of dengue patients, doctors said on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Sources at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here said on Tuesday that a 38-year-old woman suffering from dengue died on September 17 at the Centre-run medical facility.
This was the fourth dengue patient to die at the hospital this season so far, they said.
The office of Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday shared data related to measures taken to combat dengue and other vector-borne diseases.
To date, 2.85 crore places have been examined this year, for mosquito larvae breeding. This year, mosquito larvae breeding has been found at 2.40 lakh places across Delhi, it said.
The MCD has taken action and given notices to owners of 1.29 lakh houses. Apart from this, penalties have been issued for violations found at more than 56,000, it said.
In 2022, 2.43 crore places had been examined for mosquito larvae breeding. This year, mosquito larvae breeding had been found at 1.13 lakh places across Delhi, according to the data.
The MCD had taken action and given notices to owners of 86,000 houses. Apart from this, penalties had been issued for violations found at more than 30,000 houses, it said.
