Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Mosquito breeding around Commonwealth Games venues has decreased after the drastic measures being taken by various agencies, according to the Delhi government.
“The joint close monitoring by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) in and around CWG stadia has shown drastic reduction in mosquito breeding,” an official statement from the health ministry said Tuesday.

Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia has expressed her desire to visit the venues to take a close look at the ground situation. Officials from the health department said Walia is likely to visit the venues soon, though the dates have not been finalised yet.

“The minister has said she will visit the venues to see the situation herself,” a senior official from the health department told IANS.

Walia’s move comes a day after union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad blamed water-logged roads at the Commonwealth Games venues for the breeding of mosquitoes that cause dengue and malaria.

Azad, in his address to the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare Monday, also highlighted dengue as one of the main health threats after swine flu.

The situation of dengue remains grim in the capital with an 11-year-old boy Monday becoming the third victim of the disease this year. All the casualties so far have been children below 12 years.

According to the ministry, a total of 863 dengue cases have been reported in Delhi so far.

The ministry, however, said the present dengue virus infection is benign, as evident from low mortality in comparison to earlier years.

“Fatality rate due to early detection of cases and proper management is extremely low,” the statement said.

The government also said efforts are afoot to curb the mosquito menace with extensive measures “which include source reduction, anti-larval measures using temephos etc., and fogging”.

In a new measure, the Railways with help from the civic authorities have started fogging along the railway tracks to check mosquito breeding.

The government said hospitals, both private and government, are prepared to deal with cases and a review of this preparedness was done Saturday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which is itself has been found to be one of the major mosquito breding grounds in the city.

“The system is fully prepared to meet any future need of platelets, if required for management of cases,” it said.

The health ministry also called upon municipal counsellors, NGOs, resident welfare associations, schools and communities to get involved in controlling the breeding of mosquitoes and supplement the government’s efforts.