Dengue crisis: Delhi corporations intensify preventive measures, but it may not be enough

New Delhi: The action comes a bit late in the day, but the municipal corporations of Delhi have finally woken up to the dengue crisis. The three corporations claim to have intensified preventive measures such as fumigation to check the breeding of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes - the main carrier of the dengue virus. The only problem, however, is that fumigation is not an effective prevention measure. In addition, insecticides used in fumigation and fogging have side-effects on humans. [caption id=“attachment_2436446” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] As many as 1,800 cases of the vector-borne disease have been reported in the national capital so far and there have been 14 confirmed deaths. North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), which has reported 776 cases (the highest among the three civic bodies) till 14 September evening, says it has intensified preventive action to contain the spread of the disease. “We have pressed into service 1,500 domestic breeding checkers (DBCs), 1,000 employees for fumigation and 300 officials to monitor them and take stock of the situation. We have also deputed three lakh staff to spray larvicide. So far, to the best of my information, 1.42 crore houses in North Delhi Municipal Corporation have been checked and treated with mosquito repellents,” NDMC Mayor Ravinder Gupta told Firstpost. He appealed to people to let the civic body employees enter their homes for the anti-mosquito drive. “Out motive is not at all to issue challans and impose penalty on households for allowing mosquitoes to breed. Our men will fumigate and educate you how to prevent mosquito breeding. Dengue mosquito breeds and their larvae grow in clean water, not in drains or on garbage dumps. We have also launched awareness campaign by organising workshops and TV and radio advertisements,” he added. South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which has nearly 500 reported dengue cases and two confirmed deaths, has around 2,400 employees deployed as dengue breeding checkers (DBCs) and field workers. The civic body also said that it has increased the fumigation drive and anti-larval measures with spike in the number of cases. “We are taking precautionary as well as preventive measures to ensure the arrest of the spread of the disease. Outdoor fogging and indoor fumigation is being carried on war footing. At present, we have four vehicles to carry mounted-spraying machines, but we have decided to increase it to 16 now. We are also seeking to make facilitation centres for having free blood test and ELISA test taken,” said SDMC Mayor Subhash Arya. South Delhi, if SDMC officials are to be believed, is the breeding hub and a paradise of Aedes mosquito. And therefore, over one lakh notices have been issued across the city to the offenders for allowing breeding of mosquitoes on their premises. “From January, we have issued over several challans. VIP challans have also been issued to institutions like CPWD, DTC depot, PWD and Lady Shri Ram College. We will continue to do that to serve as a deterrent to not allow breeding of mosquitoes,” Arya added. East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) also claims to have stepped preventive measures. “Dengue mosquitoes normally breed at temperatures between 18-30 degrees Celsius. And therefore, this is appropriate time for their larvae to grow. We are taking all preventive measures with full cooperation of the Delhi government. There is no need to panic. Our hospitals are well-equipped and have been strictly instructed not to deny admission if it is needed. There is no shortage of beds and platelets in our blood bank ,” EDMC Mayor Harsh Deep Malhotra told Firstpost. However, officials of the health department argue that fumigation is no solution to the problem. “Fumigation or fogging is not a preventive measure because it kills adult mosquitoes only. It does not have any impact on larvae. And therefore, it cannot prevent dengue. It is done just to stop transmission of the virus,” said a Health Ministry official. He further said it is not effective when done in the open. It is effective when done indoors and that too when the doors and windows are kept shut for some time. “Fogging or fumigation is done to show people that the government is serious in preventing dengue cases. But it cannot be done too often given its side-effects,” he added. Spraying larvicide and keeping the surrounding inside or outside our homes, according to him, is most effective. Meanwhile, the Delhi cabinet met on Tuesday to discuss ways to arrest the spread of the disease. The cabinet had a lengthy meeting. The government is learnt to have deliberated a law to ensure that no patient is turned away by any hospital.