Stagnation in dengue cases as season of vector-borne diseases reaches its end

The total number of people affected by the disease in the national Capital this year till December 9 stands at 9,169, according to a municipal report released on Monday. It was 9,072 till December 2.

The numbers of malaria and chikungunya cases recorded this year till December 9 stood at 1,139 and 923 respectively, the report said.

Of the 9,169 dengue cases this year, 4,681 patients belonged to Delhi, while 4,488 had come to the city from other states for treatment, the report read.

The mosquito-borne tropical disease had claimed its first victim in the city this year on August 1, when a 12-year-old boy died of dengue shock syndromes at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Three more deaths were reported in October by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates the data for the entire city.

The civic body, however, is yet to acknowledge two fatalities due to dengue at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and the death of a boy at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital due to the vector-borne disease.

According to authorities at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, seven-year-old Shaurya Pratap Singh had passed away on November 22, two days after he was admitted to the hospital, the latest dengue death to be reported from the national Capital.

The number of dengue cases recorded in the city stood at 2,022 in October, while 816 cases were reported last month, the report said.

36 cases have been reported this month till December 9, it said. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end but may stretch till mid- December.

This year, however, the disease had spread much earlier. According to the SDMC, mosquito breeding was reported from 2,10,752 Delhi households till December 9.