L-G reviews preparedness for dengue, chikungunya

With rising cases of dengue and chikungunya in the national capital, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal conducted a review meeting on Thursday to discuss the preparedness of the vector-borne disease.

Delhi, so far has witnessed at least 125 cases of malaria, 152 cases of chikungunya and nearly 100 cases of dengue were recorded till 1 July, according to the report prepared by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

According to the figures provided by the Union health ministry, Karnataka has reported 1,945 cases, Gujarat 616, Andhra Pradesh 606 and West Bengal 469, among other states, till July 2. Over 18,700 cases of dengue have been reported in the country so far in 2017.

"The focus was entirely on spreading awareness about the disease. The three pillars — information, education and communication were discussed as the main tools for combating the vector-borne disease," said a senior Delhi government official.

According to officials, the L-G directed the agencies to improve the functioning of their 24X7 helpline numbers and update their database to provide real-time information on beds to the public.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also stressed on involvement of all sections of community to come forward and make it a 'people's movement' to fight dengue and chikungunya effectively.

"There should be engagement of RWAs with Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs) to visit and monitor the households for any potential breeding sites. This shall also help in sharing of responsibility of checking with RWAs as well as sensitise residents of the colonies," added the official.

Baijal also directed the municipal bodies that a nodal person be designated for each ward who will be responsible for vector control and awareness-related measures and ward-wise report of activities being carried out at ground level should be submitted on a daily basis to the controlling authorities.

"The education department should issues an advisory to all schools, colleges and institutes so that the students know about do's and don'ts for prevention of dengue and chikungunya," Baijal said.

Analysis

Many slum areas in the Capital have often been ignored when it comes to taking measures against dengue. This leads to problems
Often, a lack of co-ordination between agencies leads to confusion and lack of action. Medicines also have proven to be a problem in the past with hospitals not keeping adequate supply