New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) From earmarking high-risk wards to delineating roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has prepared an action plan on prevention of dengue and other vector-borne diseases, officials said on Monday.
Six fresh cases of dengue have been reported in the last one week in Delhi, taking the tally to 61, according to a civic report released on Monday.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.
Civic authorities in Delhi have sprung into action as several cases have been reported much before the season of the vector-borne diseases.
The EDMC said an action plan with short-term and long-term vision, has been prepared.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation has prepared an action plan in compliance with the directions of the Delhi High Court for prevention of vector-borne diseases and commissioner of the EDMC has approved the annual action plan, the civic body said in a statement.
Based on the vector-borne diseases situation during 2021, “high-risk municipal wards” have been earmarked for a more focussed approach for prevention and control measures, officials said.
Common protocols under the action plan has been prepared by the EDMC and published in public domain including on its website, they said.
The EDMC has prepared a plan for 2022-2023 which includes a detailed action plan for the period from January-December 2022, the civic body said in a statement.
Roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including those from various departments, have been delineated for specific actions in source reduction of mosquito-breeding, taking care of unavoidable water or rain water collection, and avoidable water collection in open areas, officials said.
The EDMC has also prepared a long-term plan, composed of activities specific for each of the months of 2023, which coincides with “lean transmission period to peak transmission period”, where timely execution of control and preventive measures have been specified, it said.
Newer initiatives, like active community participation through public-private partnership with RWAs of group housing societies and others have been also mentioned. the statement said.
The action plan includes details of supervisory staff in municipal wards of both Shahdara (South) and Shahdara (North) zones and officials of the Public Health Department, it added.
Gantt charts with timeline on different vector-control activities, schedule of trainings or meetings and various awareness-building activities, stretched across different months in a year, has also been included in the plan, officials said.
Last year, 9,613 dengue cases, the highest number of cases of the vector-borne disease, was recorded in Delhi in a year since 2015, while 23 deaths were also reported.
In the years prior to 2021, the total dengue cases reported were — 4431 (2016), 4726 (2017), 2798 (2018), 2036 (2019) and 1072 (2020), according to the report.
In 2015, the city had witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue, when the number of dengue cases reported has crossed 10,600 in October itself, making it the worst outbreak of the vector-borne disease in the national capital since 1996.
The number of dengue fatalities logged in 2021 was the highest in the national capital since 2016, when the officially reported death count was 10.
Delhi had recorded two deaths due to dengue in 2019, four in 2018, and 10 each in 2017 and 2016.
The civic report, released on Monday, also stated that five cases of malaria and eight cases of chikungunya have been reported so far this year in Delhi. PTI KND TDS TDS
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