Malaria cases nearly double compared to last year, chikungunya also surges

New Delhi: Malaria cases surged to 784, nearly twice the count compared to last year's 402 cases, Municipal Corporation of Delhi's vector-borne report up till Dec 21 has shown.

The data show a significant increase from 258 cases in 2022 and 167 cases in 2021. Officials blamed heavy rainfall for the increase in malaria cases this year.

"Malaria is caused by the Anopheles mosquito, which can easily breed on clear water collected on surfaces even if touching the soil or ground. This means that the water accumulated on roads during rain can easily lead to breeding of this mosquito. In comparison, the Aedes mosquito breeds in containers or accumulated water, not touching the surface of a road. However, humid weather is perfect for breeding of both kinds of mosquitoes," an official said.

The number of chikungunya cases also saw a surge, with 259 cases till Dec 21, compared to 53 in 2023 and 47 in 2022. Dengue cases in the city reached 6,287 till Dec 24, which is lower than the previous year's tally of 8,970 during the same period. In 2022, the total dengue cases reported by this time was 4,361 and 9,545 in 2021. "This month, 586 dengue cases were reported in comparison to 1,303 in Dec 2023. In 2023, the total dengue deaths reported were 19, and in 2024 (till Dec 21), eight deaths have been reported," the report said.

"Now is the lean period, so we have minimised the drives for spraying insecticides. There has been a drastic reduction in the number of vector-borne diseases coming up now. But we expect people to take precautions at home where mosquitoes can breed due to warm temperatures, compared to outside," an official said.

According to the latest report, the number of houses where insecticides were sprayed from Jan 1 to Dec 21 by MCD staff was 32,89,242, and the number of visits done to check mosquitogenic conditions was 4,09,14631. The number of legal notices issued was 1,67,107, and the number of prosecutions launched was 55,157. The number of houses found positive for mosquitoes was 2,88,744 until Dec 21.