Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain in an order notified chikungunya as deadly disease on Friday after death due to the disease spiked. Also, Jain has directed that all the Mohalla Clinics, polyclinics and dispensaries should remain open on all days, including Sundays and Gazatted holidays during working hours till September 30.
The order issued by Jain stated, "In light of the prevailing chikungunya outbreaks, it is hereby directed that the issue of notifying chikungunya as dangerous/notifiable disease under the relevant provisions of the Municipal Corporations/local Bodies Act and Rules be immediately taken up with the concerned local bodies for the issuance of such notification immediately," as decided in the review meeting held under his chairmanship on September 14.
Earlier, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had directed the Delhi Government to note the details of each chikungunya patient to examine the pattern of outbreaks in the national Capital.
The order further said, "This is to be done on priority to ensure that every hospital, nursing home, laboratory should furnish the data of chikungunya patients to the concerned Government agencies without failure which is imperative for monitoring the situation and to take requisite remedial action".
With this order, the hospitals, nursing homes and private doctors would have to send reports pertaining to chikungunya patients on daily basis to municipal bodies.
The viral illness is caused by Aedes mosquito, which also spreads dengue. Symptoms include fever and joint pain. What separates chikungunya from other viral illnesses, is the acute pain in joints.
Chikungunya was first identified in 1950s. It was generally held that chikungunya did not cause deaths directly. A major epidemic of chikungunya fever was reported in Kolkata in 1963; Puduchery in 1965 and in Tamil Nadu; Andhra Pradesh, Rajamoundry, Vizag, and Maharashtra in 1973. Thereafter, sporadic cases continued to be recorded especially in Maharasthra in 1983 and 2000.
The perspective changed since 2007. Ahmedabad reported over 60,000 suspected chikungunya cases in 2006. Of the 154 blood samples collected, 84 tested positive for chikungunya and of these 84 cases, 10 were fatal.
IIM-Ahmadabad compared the death rates in 2006 with those in 2002-05 for the same three-month period and found that the rate had increased by 22 per cent in August, 57 per cent in September and came down to 33 per cent in October.
The study found 2,944 excess deaths, which occurred during the outbreak when compared with the average number of deaths in the same months during the previous four years. The authors of the study said the excess deaths could be attributed to the epidemic.
Additionally, as of April 2015, over 13,79,000 suspected cases of chikungunya were recorded in the Caribbean islands, latin American countries, and the United States of America. 191 deaths have also been attributed to chikungunya during the same period.