Last week, Delhi High Court upbraided the city’s three municipal corporations for their failure to control viral diseases — malaria, dengue and chikungunya. The court’s strictures came in the wake of an off-seasonal spurt in the three mosquito-borne diseases in the city. But the off-seasonal incidence of the viral diseases shows that the officials have been caught off guard again. Scientists advocate combining the traditional method of vector control, surveillance and monitoring with other approaches — the use of anti-dengue and anti-chikungunya vaccines, for example. At the same time, efforts to develop indigenous vaccines against the mosquito-borne diseases have lacked a sense of urgency.

Source: Indian Express July 02, 2017 19:41 UTC