Three fresh cases of malaria have been reported in the past week in Delhi, raising the total affected this season to 24, one more than the total number of dengue cases recorded in Delhi, according to the latest municipal report released on June 11.

This is the first time this season when more malaria cases have been reported here than dengue. Fourteen cases of chikungunya have also been recorded till June 9. Of the 24 cases of malaria, 17 were recorded last month, three in June, two each in April and March and one in February. Of the 23 dengue cases, six were recorded in January, three in February, one in March, two in April and 10 last month and one in June, according to the report.

The cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end, but this period may stretch up to mid-December. There were no cases of any vector-borne disease till January 13. Meanwhile, domestic breeding checkers have found mosquito-breeding at 28,491 households in the city till June 9, the report said. It said 34,291 legal notices have been served for various violations and "2,332 prosecutions have been initiated".

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal had last month directed officials to work on spreading awareness and public sensitisation on a war footing to prevent vector-borne diseases in the national capital. He had directed that crisp messages, particularly in vernacular languages, must be disseminated, besides involving school students in the awareness-generation drive.

Baijal had instructed local bodies to regularly monitor the work done by the domestic breeding checkers and fix their accountability. The LG had also emphasised that top priority must be assigned by the local bodies to the areas identified by the Health Department as most vulnerable to mosquito-breeding.

At least 10 people died in Delhi due to dengue last year, according to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates data for the entire city. Five of the 10 victims were not Delhi residents, but had died in the national capital. Overall, the vector-borne disease had affected 9,271 people in the city last year.

The official toll maintained by the Delhi municipal authorities till December 26 had stood at four, even though some hospitals had reported a few more deaths due to dengue. The mosquito-borne tropical disease had claimed its first victim in the city last year on August 1 when a 12-year-old boy died of dengue shock syndrome at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). Three more deaths were reported in October by the SDMC. The numbers of malaria and chikungunya cases recorded last year stood at 1,142 and 940, respectively.