Delhi On High Alert As Dengue Fever Outbreak Gains Foothold - Independent

[hatrack]

The Indian capital was on an emergency footing yesterday to contain an outbreak of dengue fever, with medical teams moving door-to-door and spraying the streets with insecticide in an attempt to kill millions of mosquitoes that carry the disease. The authorities are considering declaring an epidemic, which would mean anyone breaking public health orders by leaving out open pools of water - mosquitoes breed in water -- could face a jail sentence.

So far 11 people have died in Delhi. But there is no mistaking the danger of a serious outbreak of dengue. In the Philippines, 167 people have died of the disease this year. In Indonesia in 2004, there were 800 deaths.

In the West, people are used to thinking of mosquitoes as nothing more than a nuisance. But in much of Asia they can pose a serious problem. A mosquito bite can kill, and at this time of year Delhi is teeming with mosquitoes.

Most Western tourists visiting India still take long courses of malaria pills. But malaria, though it is one of the world's biggest killers, is more of a problem in rural areas than in cities. It is dengue that has invaded modern, 21st-century cities, and left them struggling to cope. And there are no vaccine or preventive pills for dengue. Tourists need not cancel their holidays in Delhi yet. At the moment the city is not facing a major outbreak, but it is on alert to prevent one. Every autumn there are cases of dengue in the city, but this year there have been more than usual, and that has the authorities worried.

EDIT

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1799457.ece

[hlthe2b]

1. the mosquitos there are incredibly vicious...

During previous stints in New Delhi (and elsewhere in India),I slept indoors under a mosquito net and still would get bitten... I finally (and thankfully) started burning those insecticidal mosquito coils.... pesticide risk, be damned!