Shillong Apr 25 PTI With malaria deaths in Meghalaya dropping from 40 in 2015 to just three last year the state government is now moving from the intensified control phase to the elimination phase of the disease officials said on TuesdayOnly 27 malaria deaths were reported in the entire state in the past five years from 2017 onwards they saidWe have managed to achieve this milestone with early detection of the diseases at village level and complete treatment of all cases besides distributing mosquito nets in areas identified as vulnerable to the outbreak a senior doctor in the team that handled the vector-borne control team told PTITesting is free of cost medicines are given free of cost and even mosquito nets are provided free of cost to the patients under the National Vector Borne Programme of the Government of India she saidAn analysis of the state epidemiological situation from 1997 to 2019 revealed that the highest number of deaths due to malaria was reported in 2007 with 237 deaths in one year and out of this 117 deaths were reported in West Garo Hills district aloneThis also led to the states Health department to adopt a model identified as Tura model Tura being the district headquarters to control the diseaseEarly detection and treatment was prioritized with the active assistance of ASHA workers In the first year itself out of 7280 patients tested 2653 tested positive for the disease and were successfully treated and none of the patients died the doctor saidPTI JOP RG

New Delhi Feb 25 PTI The Delhi High Court Friday directed the Chief Secretary of the Delhi government to personally look into the aspect of amending the law and increasing the penalty so that it acts as a deterrence against the breeding of mosquitoes which cause vector-borne diseasesThe high court also asked the concerned authorities including civic bodies to furnish their action taken reports concerning control and prevention of vector-borne diseases in Delhi by the next date of hearing on March 25Regarding the proposal to enhance punishment and amend section 482 of the Delhi Municipal Act and Section 390 of the NDMC Act a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh was informed by the Delhi government counsel that it was still pending active considerationPresently there is a fine of Rs 500 for people who do not keep their surroundings clean and allow water to stagnate leading to mosquito breedingWe direct the Chief Secretary Delhi government to personally look into the said aspect so that the amendment in law is brought about at the earliest the bench saidThe bench which was hearing its suo motu case concerning large-scale mosquito breeding in the city was informed by the corporations counsel Divya Prakash Pande that a meeting was called on February 15 to discuss the common protocol to be evolved and finalised for prevention and control of vector-borne diseasesHowever the representatives of the Delhi governments Flood and Irrigation Department and Education Department were not represented The representative of the Flood and Irrigation Department of State of Uttar Pradesh also did not attend the meeting despite notice the court was informedDelhi government counsel Satyakam said that prior notice was not received in the Flood and Irrigation Department and added that the department was willing to shoulder the roles and responsibilities assigned to the department except the sewage treatment plant which falls under the control of Delhi Jal Board and water bodies which are not in the control of Flood and Irrigation DepartmentHe said the Education Department was not aware of the meeting being fixed and assured that representatives of both the departments would attend the next meetingThe court termed it as very unfortunate that the UP governments Flood and Irrigation Department did not participate in the meeting despite service of notice and issued a notice to the Resident Commissioner of the neighbouring state to ensure that the orders are complied withThe court was informed that municipal corporation officials are not allowed to enter Mandoli jail premises by the prison staff to fog to control mosquito breedingThe court then issued notice to the Director-General of Prisons and said that in the next meeting a senior officer from the Headquarters Prisons shall also be presentIt further issued notice to the Director-General Health Services Ministry of Health and Family Welfare noting that there was no representation of the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme in the meeting despite noticeThe court had earlier appointed advocate Rajat Aneja as an amicus curiae to assist it in the matter and he was also allowed to participate in the stakeholder meetingsThe high court had on December 24 2021 directed that each of the local bodies including East South and North MCDs Delhi Cantonment Board and New Delhi Municipal Council shall set up task forces headed by their commissioners concerned to monitor and control mosquito breedingIt was informed that separate task forces have been constituted at headquarter and zonal levels and the first meeting was held on January 4Last year the court had also pulled up the municipal corporations for their failure to control the spread of dengue which has doubled this year in the national capital saying there was a complete paralysis in civic administration as no one is bothered about the deathsIt had said that the authorities have become so populist in their approach that the policies are being made only in populist ways and they are scared of doing anything that will lose them votes PTI SKV SKV RKS RKS

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI The Union Health Ministry has sent a high-level multidisciplinary team to Uttar Pradesh where a case of Zika virus disease has been reported A 57-year-old man from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh tested positive for Zika virus on October 22 In a statement the ministry said the multidisciplinary team comprising an entomologist public health specialists and gynaecologist drawn from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme National Centre for Disease Control and RML Hospital New Delhi has been deployed to assist the state health authorities for control and containment measures of Zika virus disease The team shall work closely with the state health department take stock of the situation on the ground and assess whether the Union Health Ministrys Action Plan for Zika Management is being implemented The team will also recommend necessary public health interventions for management of Zika in the state the statement said PTI UZM SMN SMN

According to the data the state reported 925 dengue cases last year while a year before that it was 5286 the worst in six yearsPTITirupati A gradual decline in Covid-19 positive cases over the past few days is giving some respite to the people and to the over-burdened health authoritiesUnfortunately this seems like a short-lived joy for them as there has been a marked increase in dengue casesThe latest data from National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme shows that Andhra Pradesh has reported 732 dengue cases till July this yearThe number looks meagre when compared to the cases reported in the last few years but the health authorities have not become complacent