Vector-borne diseases continue to rise in city, total 40 deaths

With the sudden spurt of the deadly diseases, as many as 40 people have reportedly died so far this year out of which six deaths have been confirmed due to malaria which is all-time high in the last few years.  

The chikungunya outbreak in the city is the worst in last six years as 1,568 confirmed cases while 626 suspected ones have been reported during the last week. 

Till September 17, a total of 3,251 people has been suffering out of which 2,625 have confirmed the disease while others have been put in suspected category list. Sources have said that a total of 15 people have reportedly died in various city hospitals till this report was filed.  

As far as dengue is concerned, the death toll has reportedly increased to 19 even as the number of cases of the vector-borne disease crossed 1,378 this year. At least 220 fresh cases of dengue have been reported in the last week while 607 cases have been recorded this month till September 17, according to the report released on Monday. 

“An adult died of dengue about a month ago at our hospital. However, no fatality was reported due to chikungunya in the hospital,” a senior doctor at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital told media persons on Monday.  

LNJP is the biggest hospital under the Delhi government and the first dengue death of this season was also reported from there. The victim was a 17-year-old girl from Jafrabad in North-east Delhi who had died on July 21. “This season, 522 dengue cases have been diagnosed at our (LNJP) hospital. We are getting about 750 patients in our fever clinic every day. We have kept 52 beds in fever wards and 21 in fever clinics,” the doctor said.  

Out of the 19 fatalities, nine have been reported at AIIMS, while the rest at other hospitals in the city. 

However, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which compiles the report on vector-borne diseases on behalf of all the civic bodies here, has maintained the death toll at four. These four deaths include that of Iram Khan (25), a native of Meerut who lived in Jamia Nagar in South Delhi, and succumbed to dengue on August 31 at Apollo Hospital.

The other three deaths reported by SDMC include Nazish (38), sister-in-law of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who died of dengue shock syndrome at Apollo Hospital on August 12. Muskan (12), a resident of Shaheen Bagh, had died on July 29, while Deepak (19), from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to the disease on July 27. Both died at Safdarjung Hospital. 

Besides, five other fatalities have been reported by different hospitals in the city which has not yet been acknowledged by the SDMC. 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 rest to Delhi.