Delhi records 314 dengue cases in week ending Oct 12: MCD data

The number of cases reported this week is marginally lower than the 321 cases reported during the preceding week. Delhi had registered 412 dengue cases in the week ending September 28

The Capital registered 314 dengue cases from October 6 to 12, the weekly vector-borne disease report issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Monday said, adding the annual tally has now risen to 1,572.

The cumulative figure of dengue cases is the worst since the corresponding period in 2017, when Delhi had recorded 2,884 dengue cases . (Representative image)

The number of cases reported this week is marginally lower than the 321 cases reported during the preceding week. Delhi had registered 412 dengue cases in the week ending September 28. However, a senior official of MCD said despite the decline in the number of cases in the past couple of weeks, people should continue to remain vigilant.

The cumulative figure of dengue cases is the worst since the corresponding period in 2017, when Delhi had recorded 2,884 dengue cases -- the city had registered 723 cases during the corresponding period in 2021, 395 cases in 2020, 644 cases in 2019 and 1,020 cases in 2018. Delhi is yet to report any deaths this year due to the disease.

Experts consider September and October to be the most vulnerable period for the spread of the infection in Delhi, and the city usually witnesses the peak of weekly count over these two months.

While the cases have gone down over the last three weeks, domestic breeding checkers-- field workers of the public health department--continue to find high levels of mosquito breeding in several areas. MCD’s action taken report said they found mosquito breeding and larvae sites in 6,224 houses over the last one week. During this year, 144,162 mosquito breeding sites have been detected so far.

Delhi saw two spells of incessant rain recently--from September 21-24 and from October 7-11--during which over 100mm of rainfall was recorded.

An official from public health department said that while the number of weekly cases seems to have stabilised, it typically takes 15 days for mosquitoes to breed and people should clear any vessels or areas where water may be stagnating due to the last rain spell. “Dengue is caused by the bite of a female Aedes aegypti mosquito. Its incubation period can be up to 14 days,” the official added.

Of the total number of dengue cases this year, 1,072 were recorded in MCD areas, 30 in New Delhi Municipal Council areas, 49 in Delhi cantonment areas, 8 in areas under the jurisdiction of the railways, while the addresses of 413 could not be traced. Besides, a further 758 dengue patients from other states have received treatment in Delhi’s healthcare facilities.

The city has also recorded 182 malaria cases and 32 chikungunya cases this year.