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New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): With over 1,000 suspected dengue cases being reported in New Delhi, the outbreak of the disease has added to the woes of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, which is already struggling against the backdrop of constructional delays and missed deadlines.

It has been reported that at lest participating nations have written to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee inquiring about the measures being taken to control the outbreak of the disease in and around the 2010 Games venues.

A combination of heavy rains that has lashed the city this year and the debris created due to the ongoing construction for the upcoming mega event has become a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and water-borne diseases.

Moreover, the media has highlighted the danger with pictures of stagnant water at the Games village, where the athletes and administrators would be staying, as well as around some of the main stadiums where work has still not been finished.

Earlier on August 23, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said large-scale construction for the upcoming Commonwealth Games was responsible the huge number of dengue cases in the national capital.

“Mosquitoes breeding at construction sites is one of the reasons behind the menace. The presence of dengue and water is strongly related,” said Azad, while asking the people to remain alert and take preventive measures.

“Delhi is dug up because of the Games, and it is also raining very heavily in the city after a long time. Since water remains accumulated in many places, it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” he added.

Health officials have said that the number of dengue cases this year is highest in the last six years. The city had, on August 22, recorded the highest single-day incidence of dengue cases being reported this season, with 36 patients testing positive.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four-dengue viruses.

It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions, making India a perfect recipe for disaster and recently the country’s health minister had blamed the unfinished work related to the games for the outbreak of the disease.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, which kicks off on October 3, is India’s biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games.

India is expecting about two million tourists in New Delhi for the Games, as well as about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states. (ANI)