New Delhi: Ambiguity continues over the number of dengue cases reported in the city this year. While health minister Pankaj Kumar Singh has claimed that around 2,200 cases have been reported so far, Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) latest vector-borne disease report puts the figure at 272 till Aug 22, including 26 fresh cases last week.Explaining the difference, a senior MCD official said the civic body was considering only confirmed cases after verification by its teams, including visits to the addresses provided. “Many laboratories are also filing their reports on the govt portal even when the cause of fever is not verified. We are, on the other hand, following a protocol and submitting details of verified patients to National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control,” the official said. National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme shows 217 cases in the city till April 30.TOI contacted health minister Singh regarding the discrepancy, but did not receive any response.At 51, the number of dengue cases reported in Aug so far is the second highest after April, when 52 cases were recorded. The MCD report also listed 173 cases with incorrect addresses, 35 cases where patients were not found at the mentioned addresses and 90 instances where the infection was acquired outside Delhi. But even if all cases are added, the total number as per MCD will be 570.Of the 26 fresh cases, 23 were from MCD areas, while one each was reported from the New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Cantonment Board and Northern Railway areas. Last year, Delhi recorded 361 dengue cases till this point of the year, while 402 cases were reported during the same period in 2024.The MCD report stated that Delhi had recorded 95 malaria cases so far this year, including 15 fresh cases last week. The city reported 181 malaria cases in 2025 and 177 in 2024.Delhi has also recorded 21 chikungunya cases so far this year, including two new cases during the last week. In 2025, 32 chikungunya cases were reported, and 28 in 2024.According to the MCD data, civic teams detected mosquito breeding at more than one lakh locations between Jan 1 and Aug 22. The civic body has issued 81,143 legal notices and launched 6,927 prosecutions for conditions conducive to mosquito breeding.
