India, Sept. 17 -- NOIDA With the total dengue cases in the city at 271 since the start of this year, several of them have gone "untraceable", with incorrect or incomplete addresses and unreachable phone numbers, officials informed on Tuesday.

"The issue is making it harder to control the infection. When patients cannot be located, not only is their own monitoring affected, but there is also a higher risk of the disease spreading unchecked," Shruti Kirti Verma, district malaria officer (DMO) said.

Officials explained that the problem often arises because patients provide incomplete information at the time of registration. "Many patients, particularly those tested at the hospital, either give incomplete addresses or their phone numbers t...