First dengue fatality in Delhi: 12-year-old boy from Bihar dies

NEW DELHI: The first casualty to dengue in the national Capital has been recorded from south Delhi area, with cases of the vector-borne disease having reached a whopping 153 dengue this month.

This year, the Capital has witnessed a severe outbreak of vector-borne diseases, namely chikungunya, dengue and malaria.

A report released by the three municipal corporations of Delhi on Monday has also revealed 50 fresh cases of malaria, along with 44 fresh cases of chikungunya for the month of August.

With August reporting the highest number of monthly cases this year, the total cases of dengue, malaria and chikungunya has reached 325, 451 and 311 respectively for 2017.

The MCD report revealed that a 12-year-old boy became the season's first dengue victim this year.

The victim Nitish Kumar, who had been living in south Delhi, had been admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on July 30, in a critical condition and was diagnosed with dengue.

Kumar passed away on August 1, but the data was released in this week's updated list of dengue cases by the civic bodies.

"The boy, identified as Nitish Kumar, hailed from Bihar and was residing in Safdarjung area in south Delhi. He died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital," South Delhi Mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat said.

Authorities at the Hospital said, "The boy was brought to here on July 30 and died due to dengue hemorrhagic fever on August 1."

As of August 19, Delhi has recorded a total of 657 dengue cases. Out of these, 325 patients are from Delhi, while 332 are patients from other states undergoing treatment in Delhi hospitals.

Areas under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) reported the highest number of cases at 64, followed by 42 cases from areas under New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

NDMC usually reports the lowest number of dengue cases every year.

According to experts, the reliability of municipal corporations' on using costly insecticides to control mosquito menace does not yield desired results due to lack of transparency in measures taken to prevent it.

Explaining the process, from procurement of insecticides from a particular company to further distribution to the District Health Officer (DHOs), an expert said, "First, insecticides are purchased by agency, and then allotted to DHOs on demand. But there is no mechanism to check whether the DHOs are using the insecticides in the desired quantity or spraying only water."

He also said that a tank used for spraying costs Rs 1.5 lakh, while the insecticides cost Rs 1,050 per kg. However, it costs only Rs 25 to make a water cooler dengue free, he added.

Most importantly, there is no way to check whether insecticides worth Rs 1.5 lakh (in a single tank) are being used adequately or not.

Meanwhile, SDMC Mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat decided to call a high-level meeting to inquire and address the issue.

2015 saw the worst outbreak of dengue in the city, with 15,867 cases and 60 deaths being recorded.

2016 recorded 4,431 cases and 10 casualties. The year also saw one of the worst chikungunya outbreaks, with a total of 12,221 cases being reported till December 24. Of these, 9,749 cases were confirmed.