As dengue window looms in Delhi, agencies told to get cracking

The government has directed that students of all schools must wear full-sleeve clothes during the monsoon season as a preventive measure against dengue

The Delhi government has issued directions that all school students in the city must wear full-sleeve clothes during the monsoon season, and civic bodies must take steps to stop mosquito breeding in slums, industrial areas, and other places, conduct fogging exercises, and spread awareness among students to prevent dengue outbreaks.

The directions were issued in a meeting by health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj at the Delhi secretariat on Friday. (ANI)

The directions were issued in a meeting by health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj at the Delhi secretariat on Friday to review the preparations in place for checking vector-borne diseases, especially dengue, in the city during the monsoon season.

“In this meeting, it was reported that 4 million pamphlets have been printed for public distribution, Asha workers have been sensitised about dengue awareness, the radio jingle file has been processed and will start soon, and genome sequencing of samples has been increased,” the minister’s office said.

The meeting was attended by officials from the health and family welfare department, the directorate general of health services (DGHS), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the Public Works Department (PWD), the Directorate of Education, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), and Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department.

Dengue has largely been associated with the monsoon season between June and September when stagnant water provides the perfect breeding ground for the Aedes mosquitoes, the carriers of the dengue virus. In 2023, Delhi recorded 9,266 cases of dengue and 19 deaths due to the viral disease, making it the third worst outbreak of the infection in the city, according to annual data on mosquito-borne diseases released in January this year.

MCD officials briefed Bharadwaj that all schools under MCD are providing students with dengue homework cards, and breeding checking has been increased to ensure that the mosquitoes do not breed in residential and other areas.

Officials said that an advisory would be issued in the second week of July on activities to prevent mosquito breeding. Officials will organise parent-teacher meetings in the last week of July to sensitise parents about dengue and malaria-related precautions. All schools have been directed to tell students to wear full-sleeve clothing, and issue dengue homework cards to students.

“The health minister directed that proper monitoring is in place since private schools are not following the directions regarding full sleeves clothing and also a mechanism be developed for checking dengue homework cards,” the minister’s office said.

Delhi recorded 4,469 dengue cases in 2022, 9,613 in 2021 (the second-worst dengue season, with 23 deaths), 1,072 in 2020, 2,036 in 2019, 2,798 in 2018, 4,726 in 2017, and 4,431 in 2016.

According to MCD, the Capital had its worst dengue season on record in 2015, when the city logged 15,867 cases and 60 deaths — an unusual spike fuelled by a virulent strain.