Control of Dengue: MCD says next 15 days could be crucial

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) While allaying apprehensions that the Dengue threat was serious enough to be declared an epidemic, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, however, said it would take another fortnight before the disease was fully brought under control.

''As per the present situation, there is no need to declare Dengue as an epidemic. However, the next 15 days could be crucial,'' MCD Medical Health Officer N K Yadav told reporters here.

Mr Yadav said about 589 cases of Dengue had been reported from North India till 1000 hours this morning, of which 352 were from Delhi while 237 others were reported from outside Delhi.

While 52 cases were reported from Haryana, 131 were reported from Uttar Pradesh and nine from Rajasthan, he said.

The worst affected from Dengue have been the Najafgarh, Karol Bagh and Shahdara (North) zones, which have reported 49, 44 and 45 cases respectively.

Mr Yadav said though the confirmed number of deaths from Dengue were 11 at present, three other deaths reported from AIIMS and the Safdarjung hospitals were suspected to be from dengue. While one of the persons was from Delhi, the other two were residents of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Ballabhgarh in Haryana respectively.

He said the Corporation had embarked on a host of measures to check the spread of the Dengue virus.

''We have intensified work on checking drains and nallahs all over Delhi for larval infections. Five fire tenders have been deputed for carrying out anti-larval operations in major drains and nallahs in various parts of the city. Further, seven power spray tankers have been deputed to carry out anti-larval operations in major water collections,''Mr Yadav said. The MCD has already cancelled all leave of its anti-malaria staff till November 30.

He said efforts were on to hire two vehicles mounted with fogging machines, in addition to the 12 already being used for outdoor fogging in the 12 zones of the MCD.

''These machines can be deployed in areas like the Najafgarh or the Shahdara (North) zone which have witnessed a large number of Dengue cases,''he said.

He also appealed to all the residents of the city to shut down their coolers as over 70 per cent of mosquito breeding was reported from water coolers.

He said that as per the MCD observation, majority of mosquito breeding had been reported from residential colonies.

Meanwhile, the MCD today challaned the Swami Dayanand hospital in Shahdara (North) zone after Mayor Farhad Suri, during a surprise inspection, found mosquito breeding in the premises of the hospital run by the Corporation.

The MCD has, over the last week, 'challanned' about 13 hospitals, including Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, the ESI hospital, Modi Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital, Batra Hospital, the Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital for not doing enough to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes on their premises.

Most of these hospitals were 'challened' after MCD officials, during an inspection, found stagnant water on their campuses.

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