CHENNAI: Chennai Corporation reported fewer cases of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis and chikungunya in 2014 than in the previous years, according to data compiled by the civic body.
Till September, Chennai recorded 50 dengue cases. The figure was 68 during 2013 while 403 cases were reported in 2012. Corporation officials attributed the drop to their proactive steps to curb the outbreak of dengue, especially with the city receiving considerably higher rainfall this monsoon.
“At the first reported instance of dengue, we undertake measures such as fogging the areas. Clearing out stagnant water and introducing mosquito fishes into nearby waterbodies, if any, are a few of the other measures,” an official said.
They also said that the Nochi plant scheme has worked out positively as far as vector control measures of the Corporation were concerned. Regarding malaria, 2,033 cases have been reported so far. The number was double that at 4091, a year earlier, while it stood at 4,258 in 2012.
Officials said that the main reason behind the halving of number of malaria cases was due to the monitoring of problem zones from the past. “Zones four, five, nine and 13 are the main problem areas for malaria. Most number of cases are reported in these zones and also there are natural breeding grounds for anopheles mosquito types,” an official said.
Significantly, despite the water stagnation in many localities after this year’s monsoon spell, figures from the Corporation suggest low number of rat fever or leptospirosis cases. With 84 cases reported so far, the number is far lesser than 229 recorded in 2013. In 2012, the number of leptospirosis cases stood at 351 thereby suggesting a positive decline in the last couple of years.
Only eight cases of chikungunya were reported this year, while in 2013 and 2012, nine and 12 cases respectively were recorded.