Delhi govt makes dengue, malaria notifiable diseases, to help track cases better

The Delhi government has made vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya as notifiable diseases under the Epidemic Diseases Act, making it mandatory for all hospitals and healthcare institutions to report any case that they receive to the government, according to a notification issued mid-October but being implemented from this week.

According to the the Delhi Prevention and Control of Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya or any Vector Borne Disease Regulations, 2021 vide notification dated October 14, 2021, the data provided by the hospitals will be used to map out regions where the diseases are spreading and declare them an “infected” or “threatened” area for focussing mosquito control measures, according to the notification.

Any individual or institution violating the instructions such as not following through on breeding control measures or not reporting cases will be liable to be prosecuted under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that allows up to six months imprisonment and ₹1,000 fine or both, according to then notification.

The notification makes provision for appointing a regulating officer who will coordinate with the local bodies, the central government, and implement the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. A controlling officer for the infected or threatened area will ensure all medical practitioners in the area report the cases, get people in the areas suspected to have the disease tested, carry out survey and take preventive measures, the notification said.

Dr BS Charan, head of the integrated disease surveillance programme cell of the Delhi government, said they were ensuring that hospitals not only report not just dengue but all fever cases.

“We have also asked all hospitals to share details of the beds available for dengue patients. We have also asked the corporations to collect data and share report of cases every day rather than once a week. It will take some time but everything will be streamlined,” Charan said.

The notification gives more powers to the local bodies to implement all mosquito breeding control measures. In addition, it states that contractors at construction sites will be responsible for screening of all the migrant labourers for such diseases.

“This will certainly help us in implementation. The notification grants us more powers and no one can now refuse inspections for breeding checking,” according to a senior official from South MCD.

So far, 1,006 dengue cases and one death of the disease has been reported. However, officials confirmed that so far six deaths that have been investigated by the death audit committee, which will be added to the toll.

The notification of malaria has been a long awaited step, especially as Delhi has targeted elimination of the disease by 2022. This year in June, the then union health minister Harsh Vardhan urged the government to make the disease notifiable to help in accurately tracing cases and identifying areas where the disease was spreading.

“Basically, the impact of the notification is that everyone has to report these cases. So, one we get to know the true burden of the disease. Such notification is especially important for a disease like malaria because there are few cases, that may miss the stay and this will help in micro-mapping,” said Dr Kaushik Sarkar, director, Malaria No More-India.