With total number of cases reaching 10,683, the dengue epidemic has reached an all time high, crossing 1996 record of 10,252 cases, the worst ever period for dengue.
The number of dengue cases has tripled to 3,077 this week alone, according to officials. In its report on the vector-borne disease released on Monday, the civic administration has maintained its dengue death toll at 30 whereas the unofficial figure count stands at 41.
With thousands of cases of dengue across the city creating panic among people, the MCD’s false claims of “controlling dengue” stand exposed and the statistics are likely to go higher in the coming weeks as there is no let up in dengue cases being reported, said some dengue watchers.
The Pioneer had last week reported that the capital is battling the worst dengue outbreak since 1996.
The South MCD is the worst off at 2432 cases, followed by North MCD at 2307 and East MCD at 1413. Among the total number of cases reported till October 10, alone has seen at least 3,077 people affected by the deadly virus. Across the zones, Najafgarh performed the worst with 808 cases this week. With 120, the least number of cases were recorded in the City zone.
“This year’s dengue outbreak followed the cyclic trend which originates after four to five years. Cases are originating more because the population got exposed with this year’s dengue mosquito bite. However in the coming days, as soon as the temperature dips, the dengue cases will also starts declining. “As soon as fan is off, dengue mosquitoes are off,” said the Dr. DK Seth, director, Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.
With 10,252 cases and 423 deaths, 1996 had witnessed the worst dengue year on record for Delhi. It saw the Government making reporting the viral disease mandatory to prevent and control outbreaks in 18 endemic states/union territories, including Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana.
“Year 1996 has the worst track record of dengue. After that there were some years when the capital recorded a spike in the number of cases. But this week’s data has surpassed all recorded after that of 1996,” said a health official in MCD.
Till October 3, at least 7,606 dengue cases and 25 deaths were reported. On October 8, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which compiles the report on behalf of all civic bodies, had updated the official death toll to 30.In 2010, besides over 6,200 total cases only eight deaths were officially reported throughout the year.
Till October 10, 158 cases were registered in 2014 while in 2013 it stood at 3,298. Nearly 300 cases were recorded in 2012 while 2011 saw 331 cases in the same period. In 2010, over 4,000 cases were reported in the same duration.
September alone recorded 6,775 dengue cases. Before this, 2010 recorded 2360 cases in September and 2,246 in October. Strictly two weeks ago, dengue disease broke the record of last five years as the total number of dengue cases reached 3,791.
According to the MCD dengue report, nearly 2,000 fresh dengue cases were reported in the third week of September alone. The cases multiplied three times as compared to the data of second week of September which had recorded over 600 cases.