Dengue cases likely to rise in Delhi next week amid downpour
Sep 23, 2022
New Delhi [India], September 23 : As the national capital and its adjourning areas continue to witness incessant spell of light to moderate rain which led to severe waterlogging in several parts of the city, health expert believes that dengue cases might rise in next couple of weeks in Delhi.
Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital told ANI, "It's raining in Delhi, so dengue cases might rise in the next couple of weeks. Cases so far aren't serious and do not require ICU care. Early diagnosis is helping in the management of cases."
Dr Chatterjee further advised to wear full-sleeve clothes and to ensure that there is no waterlogging or stagnant water around the house.
The national capital has reported 396 cases of dengue this year so far, according to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) data.
Till September 17, a total of 152 dengue cases have been recorded in this month itself, while 75 cases of dengue were reported in the entire month of August.
It is also the highest number of dengue cases logged during the January 1 to September 17 period since 2017 when the corresponding figure was 1,465.
On the other hand, no death has been reported so far this year due to the disease.
Moreover, 92 cases of malaria and 17 cases of chikungunya have been reported.
According to MCD reports, in the month of September, 43 cases of malaria and 3 cases of chikungunya have been reported.
Earlier in June, there were 32 cases of dengue in the national capital.
MCD data shows that between January 1 and June 25 this year, Delhi reported 134 dengue cases. Curiously, the monthly dengue cases, since January, have been the highest ever recorded since 2017, when the civic agency started proper bookkeeping.
Last year, 9,613 dengue cases were recorded in the national capital, which was the highest number in the last five years.
Further, 4,431 cases were reported in 2016 and 4,726 cases in 2017, while in 2018 the cases sharply dropped to 2,798 cases and 2,036 cases were registered in 2019.
In 2020, the infections dropped nearly by 50 per cent as a total of 1,072 infections were reported last year, the lowest in the period ranging from 2016-2021.
Meanwhile, last year, 23 deaths were reported in the city, which was the highest since 2016.
In 2017 and 2016, a total of 10 people died in the city. In the years that followed, four, two and one death was reported in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.
