25 new dengue cases take total to 489 in Delhi

The national capital Friday recorded 25 fresh dengue cases taking the number of people affected by the vector-borne disease to 489, officials said.

"There were 25 fresh cases of dengue confirmed today (Friday). This takes the total number of cases to 489," Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) Chief Medical Officer, N.K. Yadav told IANS.

The civic agency has laid out an action plan to take strict action to check breeding of mosquitoes that transmit the disease.

"We have prepared information pamphlets and these will be circulated among residents. After the initial period to create awareness, from next week we are going to step up challaning (penalising)," Yadav said.

Till Oct 31, MCD staff had visited 22,074,365 houses and found mosquitoes breeding in 44,107 houses.

"Legal notices were issued to 45,168 people and prosecution action was initiated against 4,963," Yadav said.

Until now, there have been two deaths caused by the disease - one of a 15-year-old boy and the other of a nine-year-old boy.

The civic agency has also attributed the spread of the diseases to stagnant water found at the various under-construction sites in the city which are facing the Oct 2010 Commonwealth Games deadline.

"There are water storages left open at construction sites across Delhi. Many have been notified as breeding areas. We warn contractors and they should take appropriate action. This is a concern with the agency," Yadav stressed.

Last updated on Nov 6^th, 2009 at 16:18 pm IST--IANS