Dengue cases fall but no respite from chikungunya

Dengue cases, which have crossed the 2,100 mark in the city, have begun to plateau unlike last year when 6,775 cases were reported in September alone. According to a Municipal report released on Monday, 2,133 dengue cases have been recorded till October 1.

Of this, 1,362 were reported last month and 441 last week. At least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported at various hospitals, including nine at AIIMS, though the civic bodies said only four persons died of the disease. Meanwhile, chikungunya cases in Delhi are still on the rise as more that 2,000 fresh cases have been reported during last week.

The MCD report has reported a total of 6,667 cases of chikungunya till Saturday last out of which 5,295 are confirmed while the remaining are suspected cases. Till September 24, total cases were 5,293 out of which 3,695 were confirmed while the remaining were suspected. North MCD, which covers almost half of Delhi, has recorded as many as 515 cases, while the SDMC has recorded a total of 498 cases. In the third one, EDMC, a total of 172 cases have been recorded. As far as deaths due to chikungunya is concerned, it has reportedly crossed 22 this year.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation compiles the report on vector-borne diseases on behalf of all civic bodies in the city. The first victim of dengue was a 17-year-old girl from Jafrabad in North-east Delhi. She died on July 21. SDMC has recorded 391 cases, the maximum among all regions in the city. North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation registered 218 and 148 cases respectively, according to the report.

Central Zone of SDMC recorded 154 cases, the highest among its four zones. Najafgarh, West and South Zones reported 101, 78 and 58 cases respectively. Among the areas under North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Sadar Paharganj recorded 23 cases, Rohini (48) and Narela (20), Karol Bagh (29) and City (41) and Civil Lines (57).

According to experts, a “less virulent strain” of dengue virus is in circulation this year compared to the one last year or in 2010 when 6,259 cases and eight deaths were reported by SDMC. This year, cases have been reported early. 91 cases were reported in July, six in May and 15 in June. 755 cases were reported from areas falling outside the jurisdiction of MCDs in the city. 621 cases were reported to have originated from neighbouring areas outside of Delhi.

In North MCD areas, breeding of mosquitoes was found in 54,681 houses. In SDMC areas in 75,098 houses and 19,840 in EDMC areas. The number of prosecution launched in these areas were 4,531, 7,633 and 2,527 respectively. AIIMS in a report released on September 15 had said among the dengue and chikungunya patients visiting it, 70 per cent belonged to UP, 10 per cent to Bihar and the rest to Delhi.