Delhi: MCD Launches Urgent Campaign Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases Amid Data Secrecy

The Corporation's public health department conducted an exhaustive inspection campaign across 197 police stations in its 12 zones, revealing that 83 sites were conducive to mosquito breeding. To date, almost 3 crore house visits have been conducted, with over 14 lakh houses receiving insecticide spraying. Additionally, 1.3 lakh legal notices have been issued, leading to fines imposed on more than 22,000 violators, resulting in a collection of over Rs. 73 lakhs. Furthermore, larva-eating fishes have been deployed at 203 locations to combat mosquito breeding.

The MCD's analysis of mosquito breeding data indicates that 40% of drums, haudis (large water storage containers), and jerry cans were found to have mosquito breeding, followed by 35% in desert coolers and construction sites, and 15% in flower pots. However, the MCD has not released its weekly vector-borne disease (VBD) report for the past six weeks, leaving the number of dengue, malaria, and chikungunya cases unknown.

The last available MCD report on vector-borne diseases, dated August 7, disclosed 85 cases of malaria and 348 cases of dengue in Delhi for that year. The data indicated a significant surge in dengue cases, with 105 instances reported within a week, after which the MCD ceased disclosing case numbers.

MCD's public health officials maintain that there is an adequate supply of beds and fogging equipment for mosquito control, asserting that the situation is under control despite the yearly trend of increased cases during the humid weather.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led MCD of not procuring an adequate quantity of dengue test kits this year. According to BJP claims, only 500 dengue test kits were requested by 35 Delhi hospitals, which can perform around 1,300-1,400 tests in each hospital, highlighting potential testing limitations.

The situation remains fluid, with the MCD's campaign against mosquito-borne diseases ongoing, but the precise scale of the outbreak in Delhi remains uncertain due to the lack of recent official data.