While the season for vector-borne diseases has come to an end, yet two new cases of dengue have been reported in last one week, taking the total number of people affected by the vector-borne disease this month to five. The number of cases is highest in the month of January this year as compared to last five years. Four cases were reported in 2017 while no cases were reported in four years (2013-16) prior to 2017.
However, no cases of malaria and chikungunya reported in this month, according to a data released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday. According to the SDMC, mosquito breeding was reported from 277 Delhi households in this month.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end, but this period may stretch up to mid-December. At least 10 people died in Delhi due to dengue last year. The vector-borne disease had affected 9,271 people here in 2017. Five of the 10 victims were not Delhi residents, but had died in the national capital.
The official toll maintained by the Delhi municipal authorities till December 26 stood at four, even though some hospitals had reported a few more deaths due to dengue. In 2017, the mosquito-borne tropical disease had claimed its first victim in the city this year on August 1, when a 12-year-old boy died of dengue shock syndromes at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). Three more deaths were reported in October by the (SDMC, which tabulates the data for the entire city). The numbers of malaria and chikungunya cases recorded 1,142 and 940 respectively in 2017.
Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in clean water. The female anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, breeds in both clean and muddy water.