Delhi sees 55% spike in malaria cases this year so far, no deaths recorded

The national capital has reported a huge jump in malaria cases this year so far, with infections jumping nearly 55 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

The city has, however, not recorded any malaria-related deaths so far, according to official data.

According to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) data for the period from January 1 to October 5, this year marks the highest number of malaria cases in the corresponding period in last five years with 511 confirmed infections.

A total of 329 cases were reported during the same period in 2023, 153 in 2022, 127 in 2021, and 189 in 2020.

 

While there have been no deaths attributed to malaria in Delhi this year, this contrasts with previous years when one fatality was reported each in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

The data also highlights that the highest caseload was recorded in September every year since 2020; this year, there were 193 cases in September, compared to 106 reported in August.

In the current month, up to the first week of October, 81 malaria cases were reported, while there were 37 cases in the entire month of October last year, 75 in 2022, 47 in 2021, and 34 in 2020, according to the data.

The Delhi government is taking proactive measures to combat the rise in dengue cases by enhancing testing protocols, intensifying field actions in hotspot areas, and fostering community awareness, a health department official said.

The government is undertaking multiple activities to raise awareness and encourage preventive measures against mosquito bites, particularly after rainfall, which creates stagnant water conditions conducive to mosquito breeding, he added.

In addition to malaria, the official data showed that 2,115 dengue cases have been reported this year until October 5, with three deaths attributed to the disease. This caseload is lower than last year's count of 3,952 during the same period.

The MCD data also highlighted that Delhi registered 2,003 dengue cases in October last year, with 485 infections in only five days until October 5.

Meanwhile, another mosquito-borne viral disease, chikungunya is also on the rise, tripling this year with a total of 69 cases reported so far. In comparison, the total chikungunya cases were 65 last year and 48 in 2022, according to the data.

The data also showed that 131,745 legal notices were issued for mosquito-breeding conditions, while there were 299,211 visits made to homes for domestic mosquito breeding.