66 dengue cases in one week

The capital has seen a spike in dengue cases with 66 cases being reported last week. The total number of cases has now gone up to 119 this season.

One death has been reported with a three-year-old boy succumbing to dengue infection at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in July, according to data released by the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The boy was a resident of Inderpuri in Karol Bagh Zone.
Three dengue deaths were reported earlier, including that of a 10-year-old girl from Manipur who died in AIIMS last week. The other two deaths included two patients from Bawana in north-west Delhi, which was confirmed by the hospitals where they were admitted. These deaths have, however, not been recorded by the civic body so far.
In July, 36 dengue cases were reported in the city. With the capital receiving rainfall, hospitals across the city have reported a sharp rise in vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria in the past week.

The highest number of cases this week has been reported from South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) at 27. North Delhi Municipal Corporation which covers places like Civil Lines, Rohini and Narela, among others have recorded 22 cases this week. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Council (EDMC) have reported nine and three cases respectively.

Patients suffering from dengue this week are aged between four and 40 years, according
to the civic body data.  This year’s figures has shown a sharp rise since last year’s when 11 cases were recorded in August. The numbers are likely to rise further as the data collected is till August 8. One case of malaria was reported this month with the total malaria cases climbing to 21 this year.

The civic bodies had aimed towards zero tolerance for vector-borne diseases. However, the numbers show a rise since last year when 995 cases were reported in total and three deaths were recorded.  Over 97,000 houses were found positive for breeding of mosquitoes by the MCD till now this year. At least 81,000 legal notices have been issued to offices for mosquitogenic conditions.

Experts said the civic bodies should be more active in eliminating the breeding source as the trend shows the cases are likely to increase further.