Over 250 dengue patients currently ‘untraced’ in Delhi

Against the total 412 dengue cases currently in the capital, 256 are “untraced”, as per a weekly report by the MCD.

At least 58 new cases of dengue have been reported in Delhi in the past week, taking the total count to 412, the weekly mosquito borne disease report of the MCD states. However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has reported that a total of 71 dengue cases have remained “untraced” — comprising 55 incomplete or wrong addresses provided, and 16 patients could not be found at the recorded addresses. A total of 17 infections acquired from other states.

MCD officials said they have intensified the drive against mosquito borne diseases (HT Archive)

Against the total 412 dengue cases currently in the capital, 256 are “untraced”, as per a weekly report by the MCD.

Patients which are found to have a recent travel history outside the state are catgorized as infections acquired from other states.

The Delhi government in 2021 had issued a notification under the Epidemic Diseases Act, making it mandatory for all hospitals and clinics to report all dengue cases to MCD. However, the problem of “untraced” dengue cases continues to pose a challenge in the fight against the disease, a senior municipal official said.

“The reporting of the cases has significantly improved but there are still a large number of cases where the addresses of the patients are not properly provided. In case of incomplete address or only a general colony or region like Burari, Laxmi Nagar or Jahangirpuri being mentioned, we can not trace the exact location of the case. Counter measures can not be taken and clusters can’t be easily identified,” the official added.

According to MCD’s weekly report, 361 out of the existing dengue cases are in areas within MCD’s jurisdiction, eight cases in New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) areas, 34 in Delhi Cantonment, and nine were from Railways.

During the corresponding period in the last year, Delhi had 425 confirmed dengue cases while there were 424 cases in other categories -- 325 “untraced” and 99 infections from other states.

An MCD official said that a cluster of cases is used to classify areas as a “hot spot” or “vulnerable” where enhanced surveillance, fogging drives, and anti-mosquito drives are conducted. “If the address tracing is flawed, the measures are also affected,” the official explained.

Chairperson of the standing committee, Satya Sharma on Tuesday said that MCD has intensified the drive against mosquito borne diseases with special ward-level drives and awareness programs being conducted in all zones. “Nearly 3,000 DBC (domestic breeding checkers) workers and 2,000 field workers are involved in this drive for mosquito breeding detection and elimination across all zones,” she said, adding that around six hand fogging machines have been provided in each ward.

“DBC workers have been allotted beat-wise areas. This year, 26,759,779 house inspections have been done, out of which 137,043 houses were found positive for mosquito breeding. So far, 879,364 houses have been sprayed with insecticides, and this number will continue to rise,” she said.

Till now, 98,976 legal notices have been issued and 18,795 prosecutions have been carried out against violators.