JOIN US4 more dengue deaths in city
Four more dengue deaths were reported in the city on Wednesday, taking the toll of people succumbing to the disease to 17 so far this season. In all, 1,692 cases of dengue have been reported in the city till September 24, as per a weekly municipal report.
A 13-year-old girl succumbed to dengue at a private hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday, claimed her uncle.
“She was admitted to the hospital on yesterday afternoon and she died late night at the hospital," he told Deccan Herald. But the hospital authorities said that no death due to dengue took place in the past 24 hours.
On Wednesday, two dengue deaths were reported at Safdarjung and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospitals. Another suspected dengue death took place at a private hospital, as per the Centre-run Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
So far vector borne diseases have claimed 40 lives in Delhi this season - 18 people have died of chikungunya, 17 people have succumbed to dengue, and malaria has claimed five lives.
But the report compiled by the nodal agency, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, only mentions four deaths due to dengue till September 24.
According to the municipal report, as many as 4,649 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the city till September 24. Of these, the total number of confirmed cases stands at 3,695. In 2015, only 64 cases of chikungunya were reported in the city. In all, 25 cases of malaria have surfaced so far this season.
Discrepancies
There have been discrepancies in collating the data on vector borne diseases in the city. While the municipal report mentions 1,692 cases of dengue so far, the Centre-run Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme had collated 2,926 dengue cases in the city till September 13.
Every week, a municipal report gives details of the vector borne diseases. But even the latest report released on September 26 does not mention the chikungunya death that took place on September 1 at Hindu Rao Hospital, which is under the North Corporation.
The municipal corporations, however, claim that hospitals might be delaying reporting the cases by not informing the civic agency concerned about deaths due to vector borne diseases in time.
To iron out such discrepancies, the city government directed all hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories to "furnish the data of chikungunya patients to the concerned government agency without failure".
Earlier this month, the AAP government directed all hospitals and nursing homes to remain open throughout the week including Sundays.
“In light of prevailing dengue and chikungunya outbreak, it is hereby directed that all mohalla clinics, polyclinics, dispensaries shall remain open on all days including Sundays and gazetted holidays during their working hours till October 30,” the AAP government's notice had said.