Four hundred and thirty-six dengue cases have been reported in the Calcutta municipal area so far this year, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Saturday.
An analysis of figures shared by Hakim on Saturday and his deputy Atin Ghosh about 10 days back revealed that 84 new cases were reported within a week. Ghosh, the deputy mayor of Calcutta, had earlier said 352 dengue cases had been reported in the city till August 14.On Saturday Hakim said that 436 dengue cases have been reported in the city till August 21.
This means that between August 14 and August 21 another 84 new dengue cases were reported in Calcutta. “Calcutta has reported 436 new dengue cases till August 21,” Hakim told reporters on Saturday.
“The fight against dengue will need the participation of everyone. Even today, I received calls in Talk to Mayor (a weekly phone-in programme where Calcuttans can talk to the mayor directly) about locked properties,”Hakim said. “There are many locked properties because of an ongoing legal battle. These properties are not under maintenance.We are cleaning the properties that are coming to our notice but everything does not come to our notice,” Hakim added.
Doctors and public health specialists of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) have said that the number of dengue infections in the city would be high this year after the number remained low during 2020 and 2021 owing to Covid. As most people stayed indoors, the chance of the spread of dengue was limited. The website of the World Health Organisation(WHO) says the dengue virus is “transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito”.
The undisturbed water in these containers is the ideal place where the egg laid by the mosquito can turn into an adult mosquito, which is why it is advised to keep containers closed or throw away the water once a week, said a CMC official.