On November 10 this year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that Delhi has defeated dengue successfully with a sharp decline in a total number of registered dengue cases. According to him, there have been no reported dengue deaths this year.
“In 2015, there were more than 15,000 cases and 60 deaths and till last week, there have been fewer than 1,100 dengue cases and no deaths,” Kejriwal said in a Twitter video which he uploaded on November 10 as a part of the “10 hafte, 10 baje, 10 minute” campaign that was initially launched on September 1, 2019. The 10-week campaign was on controlling dengue in Delhi by initiating programs associated with checking of household breeding sites for 10 minutes at 10 AM every Sunday.
आज #10Hafte10Baje10Minute अभियान का आखिरी रविवार है
2015 – 15,000 केस और 60 मौतें हुई थी
2019 – 1,000 केस और एक भी जान नहीं गईजिस समय दुनिया में कई देश डेंगू से जूझ रहे हैं, आज दिल्ली ने डेंगू का एक इलाज दुनिया के सामने पेश किया है।
I am proud of you, Delhi. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/6Gp1nc0fiU
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 10, 2019
Fact Check
According to data given by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), there were 2,289 reported dengue cases in Delhi at the end of October in 2019. NVBDCP keeps the state-wise database of the total casualties numbers and registered cases for every vector-borne disease including dengue. A table released by their website also shows the figure for 2019 till October.
Dengue cannot be controlled or defeated easily because the virus is carried by Aedes Aegypti, a type of mosquito. This species lives in close proximity of human homes. They breed in stagnant water which is usually stored in water tanks, plant pots, buckets, unused tyres or water jars.
Dengue is also often under-reported in spite of being a disease which requires a mandatory notification. An RTI (Right to Information) application filed by Praja, a non-profit organisation says that there were 317 dengue deaths in Delhi in 2017 while the figures revealed by NVBDCP show only 10 deaths in the same year. This is one of the cases which proves that dengue cases are often under-reported.
Conclusion
The public awareness campaign on dengue launched the Delhi government may be noteworthy, but the statements quoted by the Delhi CM is not completely true as the no. of cases till October 2019 was 2,289.
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