By Justin Huggler in Delhi
Published: 05 October 2006
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.
"There is no need to panic and we are not declaring it an epidemic yet," the health minister for Delhi state, Yoganand Shastri, said after emergency talks. There has been public concern after it emerged there had been an outbreak at one of India's premier hospitals, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and a doctor had died.
Very few of those infected with dengue die of the disease. The problem is that the rate of infection is so high that this small proportion can still mean a lot of people. When 800 people died in Indonesia in 2004, at least 80,000 people were believed to have been infected.
So far this year there have only been 497 cases of infection in Delhi.
Known as break-bone fever for the excruciating joint pain it can cause, dengue causes a severe fever, headaches and rashes. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it lasts six or seven days, and the patient makes a full recovery. In rare cases it can cause potentially serious brain symptoms, or develop into the more dangerous dengue haemmorrhagic fever, which causes internal bleeding. It can also cause dengue shock syndrome, which has a high rate or mortality.
Dengue is on the rise throughout much of Asia and is fast becoming a major menace.
There are only a few methods for protecting against mosquitoes. They are a problem year-round in Delhi, except for a few weeks in the winter when it is too cold for them, and a few weeks in the summer when it is too hot, but it is only at this time of year they carry dengue.
It is impossible to keep them out of houses and office blocks. Even with the windows closed, they come in through the air conditioning vents. Delhi is not a clean city. There are pools of stagnant water where the mosquitoes breed. But much better kept cities have not been able to keep them out.
Unlike malaria, which is usually passed on by mosquitoes that are active at night, dengue is carried by mosquitoes that bite by day. That means mosquito nets are not an option.
The best form of prevention is to cover up despite the heat, which still lingers into October, and the authorities have called for children to wear long-sleeved shirts to school to avoid being bitten.
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.
"There is no need to panic and we are not declaring it an epidemic yet," the health minister for Delhi state, Yoganand Shastri, said after emergency talks. There has been public concern after it emerged there had been an outbreak at one of India's premier hospitals, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and a doctor had died.
Very few of those infected with dengue die of the disease. The problem is that the rate of infection is so high that this small proportion can still mean a lot of people. When 800 people died in Indonesia in 2004, at least 80,000 people were believed to have been infected.
So far this year there have only been 497 cases of infection in Delhi.
Known as break-bone fever for the excruciating joint pain it can cause, dengue causes a severe fever, headaches and rashes. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it lasts six or seven days, and the patient makes a full recovery. In rare cases it can cause potentially serious brain symptoms, or develop into the more dangerous dengue haemmorrhagic fever, which causes internal bleeding. It can also cause dengue shock syndrome, which has a high rate or mortality.
Dengue is on the rise throughout much of Asia and is fast becoming a major menace.
There are only a few methods for protecting against mosquitoes. They are a problem year-round in Delhi, except for a few weeks in the winter when it is too cold for them, and a few weeks in the summer when it is too hot, but it is only at this time of year they carry dengue.
It is impossible to keep them out of houses and office blocks. Even with the windows closed, they come in through the air conditioning vents. Delhi is not a clean city. There are pools of stagnant water where the mosquitoes breed. But much better kept cities have not been able to keep them out.
Unlike malaria, which is usually passed on by mosquitoes that are active at night, dengue is carried by mosquitoes that bite by day. That means mosquito nets are not an option.
The best form of prevention is to cover up despite the heat, which still lingers into October, and the authorities have called for children to wear long-sleeved shirts to school to avoid being bitten.
