There is a stark mismatch between the data submitted by the Union Health Ministry in the Parliament recently and that provided by its surveillance network system-National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) on its website.
The Ministry on November 29, 2019 told the Lok sabha that 91,457 dengue cases have been reported from across the country with 82 deaths till October 2019. However, as per the website of the NVBDCP, close to 1.3 lakh people have been affected with dengue fever across the States till November 2019. It also shows that the mosquito causing vector borne disease took toll of 182 lives.
If the two data are to be compared, it means that in one month itself, ie in November alone, mosquito-borne tropical disease took into its grip almost 30,000 people and claimed 100 lives.
According to the NVBDCP data, a total 1.3 lakh cases were reported till November 2019 against 1.03 lakhs in the previous calendar year.
While Uttarakhand saw cases rising to the roof top to 10,500 cases till November 2019 from 689 in 2018, number-wise Karnataka topped the list registering 15,252 cases followed by Gujarat (14,835 cases) and Rajasthan (from 9,587 cases to 12,000 cases). Bihar (2,142 cases to 6,193 cases) also registered sharp rise in the dengue cases over the previous year.
The number could go up further after the figures for December are collated.
Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were, however, among the States including some those from the North East region which have reported decline in cases during the said period. It seems, West Bengal have preferred not to submit data on dengue cases.