Dengue cases in Delhi have seen a sharp rise this year, with nearly 5,000 cases (4,965) reported till October 21 — more than double that of cases seen in the same period in 2022 and the highest in the last five years — going by MCD data.
While the corporation has not been releasing weekly dengue reports since August, data accessed by The Indian Express revealed that the spike in cases was the highest in the month of September with 2,141 cases. While 1,487 cases were reported in October (till the 21st), August saw 1,094. One dengue death has been reported so far, as per data.
On Monday, in a post on X, Delhi L-G Vinay Kumar Saxena said the rise in dengue numbers was worrying and said he had a discussion with the Chief Secretary, NDMC Chairman, MCD Commissioner, and Secretary (Health) to ensure proper sanitation and mitigation of mosquito breeding on a war footing. He also asked them to ensure adequate facilities at dispensaries and hospitals.
Even though temperatures have started dipping — the minimum was recorded as 16.1 degrees Celsius on Tuesday — the threat of cases increasing is persistent. The highest number of dengue cases is usually reported in two months — October and November. A sudden dip is usually seen in December. In 2021 — when the city saw over 9,000 dengue cases — over 6,000 were reported in November alone.
In the last week, the city reported a total of 525 cases out of which 76 remained untraced after investigation — meaning that the details of these patients, including their address and source of infection, remained unknown. The highest number of cases — 57 — were reported from the South district this week. Apart from this, a total of 146 cases reported in Delhi were infections acquired from other states.
Apart from this, a total of 146 cases reported in Delhi were infections acquired from other states. A significant increase has also been observed in malaria cases, with over 300 cases being reported so far.
When contacted for a comment on the reason behind the surge, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and the government spokesperson did not respond.
A senior MCD official said the reason behind the rise in cases is the rainfall this year, which was the highest in the last 60 years, and people not taking adequate steps to ensure no mosquito breeding at their homes.
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“Most larvae breeding was found in desert coolers and containers… the second highest breeding was at construction sites,” he said, adding that no new plans are required to tackle the rising cases except generating awareness among people to not store water in coolers and containers.
Meanwhile, doctors also said cases have been high. According to Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, cases have been reasonably high in the last month but it can’t be called a surge. “Dengue cases are still persistent and any one consultant is seeing 4-5 patients every day (we have 17 consultants at the hospital,” he said.
Dr Suresh Kumar, Lok Nayak Medical Director, said 15 dengue patients are currently admitted at the hospital’s fever clinic.
Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of internal medicine at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, also said there has been a rise in cases but the numbers are expected to come down with the dip in temperature.
