Dengue risk in residential homes: Inspections show spike in mosquito breeding

This is a 34 per cent rise in houses found positive for breeding when compared to last month. Municipal authorities said this could result in further increase in dengue cases.

dengue, dengue virus, mosquito breeding, dengue mosquito, Aedes Aegypti vector mosquito, delhi news

The Aedes Aegypti vector mosquito, which breeds during the rain, continues to reproduce and add to its numbers up till winter.

In the first two weeks of August, over 75,000 houses in the city were found to have conditions aiding the breeding of the Aedes Aegypti vector mosquito — which acts as the carrier of dengue virus — according to municipal data. This is a 34 per cent rise in houses found positive for breeding when compared to last month. Municipal authorities said this could result in further increase in dengue cases.

The data shows that 76,290 houses were found positive for breeding in the first two weeks of August, compared to 56,759 on August 1. Of the 76,290 houses, 57 per cent come under the jurisdiction of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Incidentally, the same zone reported the maximum number of dengue cases this year.

Till August 13 this year, 126 cases were reported from this zone which constituted 55.26 per cent of total cases reported so far this year. In the first two weeks of August, only 20 of the 57 cases reported were from Delhi while the remaining were from other states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Aedes Aegypti vector mosquito, which breeds during the rain, continues to reproduce and add to its numbers up till winter. Experts say cases of dengue usually peak right after and not during the rainy season because the virus takes time to grow and complete its life cycle. September is usually considered the peak month. Last year, the number of cases of dengue in August stood at 778. However, the number then rose at an alarming rate. In September last year, 6,775 cases were reported.

“The health department has begun a door-to-door awareness drive,” said an official.

First uploaded on: 22-08-2016 at 02:19 IST

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