Dengue cases cross 7,000 mark in Delhi

Over 5,500 cases reported in November so far; north Delhi sees the highest number over past week

A municipal worker fumigates a colony in north Delhi on Monday.

The Capital recorded 1,851 cases of dengue over the past week (till November 20), taking the current month’s total to 5,591 cases, a civic report said on Monday. The current season’s caseload stands at 7,128 and the toll at nine deaths — the highest since 2015 when the city recorded close to 16,000 cases of dengue and 60 deaths.

North Delhi recorded the highest number of cases over the past week at 543, followed by south Delhi with 444 cases, while east Delhi recorded 221 cases.

‘Visible decline’

“There are more fresh cases and fewer backlog cases but there is a visible decline in the total number. Mosquito breeding has been reduced but people shoul d be aware because the surviving mosquitoes can continue to breed within their residence due to temperatures being suitable indoors,” said a civic body official.

Previously, officials from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s public health department said that hospitals in the city were reporting “backdated and repeated cases” after the Delhi Government’s decision to notify vector-borne diseases under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

In the previous week (till November 13), Delhi recorded 2,569 cases of dengue. A majority of the cases for the current s eason were reported in November. The Capital recorded a total of 1,196 cases of dengue in October.

In the current season, north Delhi reported a total of 2,116 cases, followed by south Delhi with 2,056 cases. East Delhi reported 739 cases, the lowest among the three municipal corporations.

Apart from Delhi’s three municipal corporations, the New Delhi Municipal Council reported 65 cases in the current season while Delhi Cantonment and other agencies reported 111 cases and 15 cases respectively.

Untraced cases

A total of 2,026 cases remain untraced after investigation this season, according to the civic report.

“Cases have reduced by more than 50% at hospitals as compared to the previous two weeks when our beds were full. The number of patients has come down,” said a senior doctor at the city’s Ganga Ram Hospital.