Australian travel advisory warns of dengue fever outbreak during Common Wealth Games
08 Sep 2010
Australia, has in an update to its travel advisory to India, warned of a worsening of an outbreak of dengue fever during the 3-14 October Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The potentially fatal disease is passed on to humans by mosquitoes which breed in swarms in the vicinity of places like Delhi's athletes village and Games venues due flooding during monsoon rains.
With most of the atheletes' village being flooded, the Delhi government has asked the army for help to rid the floodwaters.
Measures aimed at preventing the mosquitoes from breeding have proved futile according to the Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD).
According to Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite, the dengue fever outbreak had been taken a serious note of by the Australian authorities and whatever needed to be done with respect to the Australian contingent's visit would be done.
During their visit Australian athletes would stay at a village located on the riverbed of the Yamuna River, which happens to be a natural habitat for mosquitoes.