Delhi has recorded 34 cases of dengue this month; no deaths

The city has seen 158 cases of dengue this year so far, of which 34 were reported in September and 72 in August, according to the data by the municipal corporation. There have been no deaths due to the infection

Delhi added 34 dengue cases to its tally in the week ending September 11, according to the weekly report released by the municipal corporation.

An MCD worker fumigates an area during the launch of a campaign on dengue, malaria and chikungunya prevention in New Delhi. (HT archive)

The city has seen 158 cases of dengue this year so far, of which 34 were reported in September and 72 in August, according to the data. There have been no deaths due to the infection.

Last year, the city saw 131 cases of the infection in the same duration with a total of 1,072 cases reported over the entire year. There was one death due to the infection last year. The city was reporting a surge in Covid-19 cases during the peak dengue season last year.

Unlike Covid-19, dengue is not a notifiable disease in Delhi; meaning it is not mandatory for hospitals and healthcare centres to share details of cases that they might receive. Most of the data collected by the municipal corporation comes from government hospitals and dispensaries.

“There were significant challenges last year.Most people with other ailments did not go to the hospital for fear of Covid-19 and the data wasn’t immediately shared even for those who did. This made it difficult to carry out breeding control measures. This year, we have started spraying insecticides and are conducting fogging for adult mosquitoes,” said an official from the municipal corporation, on condition of anonymity.

Delhi has also reported 68 cases of malaria and 40 cases of chikungunya so far this year, according to the report.