More than a third of the dengue cases reported in Delhi this year cannot be linked to a specific location because of incomplete or incorrect patient addresses, according to municipal and health officials.
Of the 570 dengue cases recorded up to Monday, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has categorised 208 cases, or 36.5%, as “untraced”. Another 90 cases were classified as infections contracted outside Delhi. This means only 272 cases, or 47.7% of the total, can currently be geographically traced within the capital.
The data gap is a concern for health authorities because dengue was declared a “notifiable disease” in Delhi in 2021 to improve surveillance and help authorities respond to outbreaks.
Faulty addresses make tracking harder
A senior public health department official said incomplete patient information was making it difficult to identify clusters and focus mosquito-control measures on areas where they are most needed.
“The reporting of cases has improved, but there is still a large number of cases where the addresses of patients are missing or incorrectly provided. In such cases, we are unable to trace the exact location of patients. This means clusters cannot be identified accurately and countermeasures end up being less targeted,” the official said.
At a review meeting chaired by Health minister Pankaj Kumar on Tuesday, officials said Delhi had recorded 570 dengue and 215 malaria cases so far this year. Civic agencies were directed to strengthen vector-control efforts.
West zone has most traceable cases
Of the 272 geographically traceable dengue cases, five were reported from New Delhi, 14 from Delhi Cantonment, seven from the Railways and 246 from MCD areas.
Within the MCD, the West zone recorded the highest number at 43, followed by the Central zone with 34 and Shahdara North with 27.
An MCD official said accurate location data is important for identifying “hot spots” and vulnerable areas where authorities can intensify fogging, anti-larval measures and awareness campaigns.
“If address tracing is flawed, the countermeasures are also affected,” the official said.
More reporting, but data gaps remain
Officials said dengue reporting has expanded significantly since the disease was brought under the Epidemic Diseases Act in October 2021. However, the quality of information submitted by healthcare facilities remains a concern.
“The number of units and clinics sharing disease data on the portal has gone up five to six times, but the data remains faulty, with a large proportion of cases not having a specific address or contact number of the patient,” a civic official said.
Residents have also raised concerns about mosquito-control measures. Ashok Bhasin of the North Delhi Residents Welfare Federation said, “The mosquito density is increasing as corporation has failed to check waterlogging. We have not seen any fogging drive in our area and claims of intensive drives are only on paper. On the other hand we have been struggling to get open sewer holes covered. There is total apathy from administration.”