108 malaria cases have been reported so far.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is set to notify malaria as a notifiable disease in the capital by next week, officials said Monday, adding that work on this front has been initiated. The move comes a month after Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan asked the Delhi government to make malaria and dengue notifiable diseases and make the city, including all hospitals, schools and government establishments, “vector-free”.
The South civic body’s spokesperson Radha Krishan said: “The file is under process and we are hoping to make malaria a notifiable disease by next week.”
A notifiable disease is one that is required by law to be reported to government authorities, so that the information can be used to monitor the disease and provide an early warning of possible outbreaks.
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The capital has witnessed a total of 108 cases of malaria till August 10 this year, a report by the civic body said.“As of now, only a few hospitals and clinics are providing case details on a regular basis. By notifying the disease, all medical institutes in the city will be bound to report all such cases. Each laboratory will also have to send their reports to the municipal body,” said a senior official from the health department.
“The number of cases has been on a decline… but reporting of the disease is important. Once the disease is notified, we will conduct surveys to capitalise on the data,” said Dr Anup Anvikar, scientist at ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research.
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