The national capital is witnessing a sudden outbreak of vector-borne diseases with 1,568 new cases of chikungunya and 220 cases of dengue reported last week.
The national capital is witnessing a sudden outbreak of vector-borne diseases with 1,568 new cases of chikungunya and 220 cases of dengue reported last week. An official report released on Monday, however, has claimed that no deaths have been reported due to chikungunya in the city, four persons had died due to dengue. As per reports from different hospitals about 35 people have died due to dengue and chikungunya.
Meanwhile, reported death toll from dengue in the city has increased to 20 even as the number of cases of the vector-borne disease crossed 1,300. About 220 fresh cases of dengue have been reported in the last week while 607 cases have been recorded this month till September 17.
“An adult man died of dengue about a month ago at our hospital. However, no fatality was reported due to chikungunya in the hospital,” said a senior doctor at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital. Out of the 20 deaths, nine have been reported at AIIMS, while the rest at other hospitals in the city. However, the SDMC, which compiles the report on vector-borne diseases, is still claiming only four deaths due to dengue. Besides, six other deaths have been reported by different hospitals in the city, which have not yet been acknowledged by the civic official. As per the report, 2,625 chikungunya cases were recorded in New Delhi till September 17, a massive rise of nearly 150 per cent from the previous count of 1,057 cases till September 10. At least 15 fatalities due to chikungunya complications have been reported at various hospitals in the city, though SDMC and Delhi government have not confirmed these deaths.
Among the three corporations, 304 cases of chikungunya were reported from areas under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, followed by 244 in areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and 80 under the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, and 1,283 cases have been recorded from areas falling outside the jurisdiction of the municipal corporations.
As per the municipal data, the last time the number of affected people reached three-figure mark was in 2011.
