Pune records 2,291 dengue cases this year; civic chief orders tougher action on mosquito breeding

Pune Municipal Corporation Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Saturday reviewed the city's preparedness to tackle dengue. The number of dengue cases in Pune this year has reached 2,291. In view of this, he asked all civic departments to intensify action at mosquito breeding sites.

Ram also visited the Dr Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital in Baner, where he looked at the arrangements made for dengue patients.

According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), 2,291 dengue cases were recorded between January 1 and October 20, 2026. The figure is close to last year's total of 2,391 cases, but well below the 4,908 cases recorded in 2024.

Ram said, "Citizens should not panic." He asked people who develop dengue-like symptoms to go without delay to the nearest civic or private hospital. He said the city has enough beds and medicines. He also appealed to people not to let water collect in and around their homes.

The commissioner asked the health, building permission, anti-encroachment and solid waste management departments to work together on prevention. According to him, the focus will be on stagnant water at construction sites, garbage dumps and other such places where mosquitoes breed.

In this year's inspection drive, the corporation checked about 14 lakh houses and examined 28,31,386 containers that hold water. Aedes mosquito larvae were found in 18,885 of them. These containers were in 13,000 houses. The corporation has issued notices to 2,664 properties and collected Rs 6.30 lakh in fines.

Corporation officials said 4,409 beds have been set aside for dengue patients in the city's private hospitals, including 670 ICU beds. The corporation's own hospitals have 333 beds, of which six are in the ICU. The PMC said about half of all these beds are currently vacant. Dr Naidu Hospital has 50 beds earmarked for dengue, of which 35 are vacant. Officials said all tests and treatment at the corporation's hospitals are free.

For testing, the corporation has placed rapid diagnostic kits in all its dispensaries. Confirmatory tests are being done free of charge at Dr Naidu, Dr Kotnis and Kamla Nehru hospitals. Both private and government hospitals have been told to record every dengue case on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal and not to enter the same case twice.

Officials have been told to take up the areas reporting more cases first. Fogging will be done around patients' homes and in nearby enclosed spaces. Staff have been told not to spray everywhere in open areas. A biological larvicide will be used in stagnant water.

To spread the message, the corporation is using digital displays at railway stations, radio messages and announcements on garbage collection vehicles. People have been asked to keep water tanks covered, remove stagnant water, cooperate with inspection teams and observe one dry day every week.