In the quiet, recurring rhythm of a city's monsoon season, Delhi has counted 211 dengue cases between January and mid-September 2021, with a sharp cluster of 87 arriving in the first weeks of September alone. Malaria and chikungunya have followed their own counts, and no lives have yet been lost to these fevers, though the memory of 2017, when the city endured nearly seven times as many cases, lingers in the background. Against that history, officials have turned to the simplest of human acts: asking households, and especially children, to look for standing water each Sunday and to clear it be
Delhi Logs 211 Dengue Cases in 2021 So Far, 87 Recorded in September, No Deaths Reported
In the quiet, recurring rhythm of a city's monsoon season, Delhi has counted 211 dengue cases between January and mid-September 2021, with a sharp cluster of 87 arriving in the first weeks of September alone. Malaria and chikungunya have followed their own counts, and no lives have yet been lost to these fevers, though the memory of 2017, when the city endured nearly seven times as many cases, lingers in the background. Against that history, officials have turned to the simplest of human acts: asking households, and especially children, to look for standing water each Sunday and to clear it before the mosquito does.
Between January 1 and September 18, Delhi recorded 211 dengue cases, according to a weekly report from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Eighty-seven of those came in September alone, meaning more than a third of the year's total arrived in the first eighteen days of the month. The same report logged 86 malaria cases and 44 chikungunya cases, and so far none of the three illnesses has claimed a life.
The numbers have a context. The same window in 2020 saw 172 dengue cases, so this year is running a little higher. But 2017 recorded 1,465 cases over the same period, roughly seven times today's figure, which keeps the current count in perspective.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has turned to the city's children for help. In a recent address he asked them to spend ten minutes every Sunday checking their homes and neighborhoods for stagnant water, and to drain it, change it, or cover it with a thin layer of oil. He asked them to bring their friends into the effort too. Health Minister Satyendar Jain had earlier said the situation was under control and that the government was prepared.
For now the picture is cautious. There are no fatalities and the year remains far below 2017, but September has already produced a sharp burst of cases. The ten-week campaign and weekly SDMC updates will show whether that burst is a passing spike or the start of something larger.
Between January 1 and September 18, Delhi recorded 211 cases of dengue, according to a weekly report compiled by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Of those, 87 came in September alone, which means well over a third of the year's count arrived in the first eighteen days of the month.
The same SDMC report counted 86 cases of malaria and 44 cases of chikungunya in the city over the same stretch. No deaths from any of the three illnesses have been reported so far this year.
The year-on-year comparison gives the figures some shape. In the same January-to-September 18 window in 2020, Delhi logged 172 dengue cases, so this year is running somewhat higher. The worst year for that period was 2017, when the city recorded 1,465 cases, roughly seven times this year's total.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal turned to the city's children as part of the Delhi government's dengue prevention drive, called '10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute'. In an address, he asked them to spend ten minutes every Sunday on what he called homework: checking their homes and the areas around them for stagnant water. If they find any, he said, they should drain it, change it regularly, or cover it with a thin layer of oil. He also asked the children to phone their friends and bring them into the campaign.
The approach is simple and domestic, aimed at the standing water where mosquitoes breed. Kejriwal framed it as a weekly routine rather than a one-off effort.
The week before, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said dengue cases were under control so far and that the government was alert and prepared to deal with any situation arising from the disease.
The numbers so far support a cautious reading: no fatalities, a total far below 2017, but a September that has already produced 87 cases. With the campaign running for ten weeks and the SDMC publishing weekly reports, the coming updates will show whether the September pace holds, slows, or climbs.
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Lee el original en The Indian Express ↗
Politics & Governance