Health panel flags rising dengue, chikungunya in Northeast, seeks AI surveillance
A parliamentary panel has warned that climate change, deforestation, unplanned urbanisation and poor drainage are helping mosquitoes and other disease-carrying vectors spread into new areas of Northeast India. In its report on vector-borne diseases in the region, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare called for targeted, technology-driven surveillance and prevention strategies.
The panel noted that the region's difficult terrain, shifting rainfall and temperature patterns, rapid urbanisation and gaps in healthcare access are contributing to the persistence and geographical expansion of these diseases. It highlighted a sharp rise in dengue cases across the eight northeastern states.
According to the report, dengue cases in the region increased from 142 in 2014 to 19,761 in 2023, before declining to 7,186 in 2024. For 2025, the report records 1,524 cases through August, a partial-year figure that is not directly comparable with full-year totals. Chikungunya cases rose from 3,493 in 2023 to 3,991 in 2024, an increase of about 14.3%.
The panel said dengue and chikungunya are increasingly urban concerns, driven by urbanisation, water-storage practices, poor waste management, climate change and population movement. Sikkim recorded the highest incidence among Northeast states, with 374 dengue cases in 2024. Using the state's revised population estimate, the dengue incidence was 57.9 per lakh. Sikkim also reported 1,863 chikungunya cases, with an incidence of 291.2 per lakh in 2024.
Malaria, however, presents a more mixed picture. Across India, the number of high-burden districts with an Annual Parasite Index above one fell from 155 in 2015 to 37 in 2024. In the Northeast, 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh and six in Nagaland have reported zero indigenous malaria cases for the past three years.
Japanese encephalitis remains another concern, particularly in Assam and other northeastern states. The report records 885 cases in the Northeast in 2024, compared with 709 in 2023. Nationally, the Japanese encephalitis fatality rate fell substantially, from 17.6% in 2014 to 7.1% in 2024.
To address these challenges, the panel recommended establishing a dedicated Northeast vector-borne disease portal for real-time surveillance, along with AI-based early-warning systems to predict hotspots. It also proposed mobile health units, pre-monsoon camps, rapid-response teams, stronger laboratories and dedicated funding for high-risk areas under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.
The panel further called for disease-specific treatment protocols for severe dengue and other complications, a Regional Entomology Training Hub, and greater use of climate modelling and digital reporting in public health planning.
It also flagged a significant data gap: vector-borne disease data are not separately collected for tribal, rural and urban populations. The panel recommended that such disaggregated data be compiled to enable more targeted interventions, particularly for vulnerable communities in the region.
