Dengue cases shoot up in Delhi in a week
Dengue cases shoot up in the national capital in a week
106 cases have being reported in the past week (ending September 15) alone in the national capital.
As per a healthcare workers, increase in the number of infections are to go up.
In 2018, 243 dengue cases have been reported so far according to the latest report by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The report compiles infections data after taking inputs from three other corporations: New Delhi, East Delhi and North Delhi municipal corporations. October and November are usually the peak dengue season.
Last year, 1,177 dengue cases were reported in Delhi by the third week of September. In 2016, the number was 804.
“So far, the number of cases of dengue and indeed all the three mosquito-borne illness that are usually reported from Delhi is less than previous years, but the numbers might go up,” said a municipal health official on condition of anonymity.
“When there is continuous rainfall, the mosquito larvae get washed away. It is usually during the dry spells after the rainfall when there is a lot of water accumulation that the breeding starts,” said Dr Sarala K Subbarao, former director of National Institute of Malaria Research and former consultant on vector-borne diseases with Indian Council of Medical Research.
“For the past 10 days or so, there has been no rain in Delhi; this may be the reason why the numbers have gone up now,” she added. The numbers might also be less this year because of the milder strain of dengue DENV 3 virus which has been in circulation for three years now.
“With the same serotype of dengue in circulation for the last three years, immunity in the population may have built up,” said Subbarao.
“This could be a reason why dengue cases having the same serotype are low this year,” she said.
“The number of cases of vector-borne diseases reported from an area depends on several variables -- the amount and intensity of rainfall, the strain of the disease, etc.”
“The corporation is leaving no stone unturned to ensure breeding control measures like spraying of insecticides and (ensuring) cleanliness. The domestic breeding checkers (officials who carry out door-to-door visits to warn and fine people over water accumulation) are making regular visits to sensitive areas to ensure no mosquito breeding takes place,” said Adesh Gupta, mayor of the north corporation.
-PTC News
