DNA Micro Edit: Are we ready to deal with the mosquito-menace?

Delhi has so far witnessed 45 cases of dengue and 98 cases of chikungunya. The national capital in 2016 had reported just four cases of dengue and not a single case of chikungunya was reported till this month of the year. The figures compiled by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) reflects a manifold rise in the cases of vector-borne diseases.

As the cases began to rise, the Delhi government pulled up the civic bodies for not taking enough prevent measures. The civic authorities then swung into action and regular updates on intensive fogging drive began to pour in. Notices were slapped to the departments for non-performing and suddenly the graph of the cases started to go down.

But even after all the measures, the figures reported by the authorities cannot be called totally correct. With an aim to cover up the issues, many cases go unreported and hence the figures go down. Like every year, there is a huge difference between the number of cases which are reported and the cases that actually take place.

With the onset of monsoon, the cases are expected to go up. But are we ready to deal with the mosquito-menace? A proper mechanism has to be put in place to ensure that all the figures are reported correctly.

The government has also directed all the government hospitals to increase the beds by up to 20 per cent for the treatment of fever patients. A call centre has also been set up by the government where people can get information about the availability of beds in a particular hospital.