News, Hyderabad: As monsoon rains continue across Telangana, increasing number of dengue and malaria cases have gripped the state. Dengue seems to be growing as a threat to the city, with officials confirming an astounding 70 cases till Monday this year.

Across the state, as per government statistics, 186 cases of dengue have been confirmed out of 1,400 samples. According to officials from the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology, there were a total of 80 cases of dengue in the city last year. Only 40 cases had been reported by this time.

Apart from dengue, another vector-borne disease, malaria, is on the rise, officials said. As many as 1,224 cases have been reported from across the state, with the highest (504) being reported in Adilabad, followed by 459 in Khammam.

Also the officials from Fever Hospital – the nodal agency for identifying such diseases – claim to have witnessed a two-fold growth in the number of people admitting themselves for tests. While earlier, the number usually halted at 400 per month, this year it has grown to a 1,000, claim medicos.

Even officials from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) have expressed anguish at the state of affairs.

“We were told that the nodal agencies in the city are taking up indoor-residual spraying (IRS) only after a complaint of mosquito menace is given. That shouldn’t be the case, the activity must be taken up across the city,” said Dr Anuradha Medoju, regional director, NVBDCP.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which is entrusted with the job of controlling and preventive vector-borne diseases, says it is doing its bit. “We have drafted 642 teams to pinpoint the areas where mosquitoes grow. We have set a target of 1.4 lakh houses per team daily,” said V Venkatesh, chief entomologist, GHMC.