Dengue cases are on the rise in the national capital, with Delhi recording 105 new cases in the past week, according to the latest mosquito-borne disease report from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) released on Monday.
The weekly count has consistently doubled over the last three weeks, with Delhi reporting 56 cases and 24 cases in the preceding two-week periods, respectively.
This brings the total count of dengue cases reported so far this year to 348 cases.
The current level of dengue cases is the highest reported in the last six years.
In comparison, during the same period in 2022, the city had reported 174 cases, 55 cases in 2021, 35 in 2020, 47 cases in 2019, and 64 cases in 2018.
Among these 348 cases, 191 have emerged in MCD areas, 32 in the NDMC region, 19 in Delhi cantonment areas, six under Railways, while the investigation could not trace 110 cases.
Within MCD jurisdiction, the highest cases have been reported in the west zone, south zone, and Najafgarh zones.
In 2021, Delhi witnessed 9,613 dengue cases and 23 fatalities due to the disease, marking the second-highest case load and deaths.
The worst dengue outbreak in the city was in 2015, when it reported 15,867 cases and 60 deaths.
Genome sequencing conducted by the health department of the Delhi government revealed that 19 out of 20 samples were of type 2 dengue, considered the most dangerous among the four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4).
Doctors emphasize that prevention remains the key in cases of severe dengue.
Dr. Sumit Ray, head of the department of critical care medicine and medical director at Holy Family Hospital, highlighted that healthcare workers primarily focus on symptomatic treatment. He noted that dengue can lead to low platelets, shock, and capillary leak syndrome. Unusually, the heavy rainfall causing waterlogging and flooding has likely contributed to the surge in cases due to increased mosquito breeding sites.
Dr. Ray stressed the importance of controlling the disease through preventive measures at this stage.
While there is no immediate emergency situation, the Delhi government recently took the step of reserving 5% of beds in government hospitals for dengue patients and instructed hospitals to establish dedicated dengue wards.
To curb the spread of dengue, fines for unchecked mosquito breeding have been increased to ₹1,000 for households and ₹5,000 for commercial establishments.
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