Health Minister Harsh Vardhan: India in advanced stage of developing vaccine for dengue

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday spoke about India's advancement in the development of a vaccine for dengue and asserted that once the vaccine is developed, there will be fewer cases of people being affected by it. Speaking at the Lok Sabha, the minister said that the control of dengue actually requires a lot of public awareness and added that dengue is a very typical and fatal condition and it is caused by the bite of Aedes mosquito.

"This Aedes mosquito actually breeds in clean water. It is unlike other mosquitoes that breed in poor sanitary conditions. As far as the treatment for dengue is concerned, Health is a state subject and all the state governments have to make arrangements for the treatment of not only dengue but all the diseases," he said.

He then said that states are provided assistance through the National Health Mission. "In India, we are at an advanced stage of development of a vaccine for dengue. In the coming years when we have a dengue vaccine, the incidence of dengue or those who get affected by dengue will get lowered," he said.

Furthermore, the Minister answered another query and said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) tests water quality at 4000 places in the country and tests the concentration of heavy metals and pesticides among other things.

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Over 1,700 dengue cases in Delhi

Dengue cases have risen in the national capital, taking the total number of people affected by the vector-borne disease this year in the city to over 1,700, according to a municipal report released on Monday. The number of malaria cases recorded till November 30 has also risen to 685, it said. Till November 18, the city had recorded 1,474 cases of dengue. With fresh cases, the total currently stands at 1,786, the civic authorities said, adding November alone saw 717 cases.

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(With Agency Inputs)