MCD report: Dengue cases cross 4,000-mark for 2024

The MCD weekly report stated that the civic body in October had recorded a rise in dengue, malaria and chikungunya

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday confirmed that the overall count for the number of dengue infections in the city has crossed the 4,000-mark in 2024, with 467 new cases reported in the weekly cycle ending on November 2.

(Representative image) Of the 4,061 dengue cases in this year, 2,431 cases (59.86%) were reported in October alone (HT Archive)

According to the weekly vector borne disease report, Delhi has reported 4,061 dengue cases between January and November 2. So far, three people have died due to complications arising from the disease, but officials said all the deaths occurred in September, and there have been no fatalities since.

According to MCD, a gradual decline in temperatures has resulted in mosquitoes seeking shelter indoors, and officials warned residents to be careful over the next few weeks. However, they pointed out that the number of dengue cases has started to plateau — in the last weekly cycle, Delhi had recorded 480 dengue cases, and 495 in the preceding week.

“With a drop in temperature, we are expecting a decline in the number of cases for vector-borne diseases. However, the temperature inside houses is still 25°C, which is appropriate for the breeding of mosquitoes. We are requesting residents to avoid any source of mosquito breeding, such as keeping feng shui plants, plates below pots, etc, or to clean them regularly to mitigate the chances of larvicides breeding,” an official from MCD’s public health department said.

Of the 4,061 dengue cases in this year, 2,431 cases (59.86%) were reported in October alone —the highest count for the month in at least the last five years. Delhi has also logged 709 malaria cases this year, of which 279 cases (39.35%) were in October. The city has also recorded 151 chikungunya cases — also the highest for at least the last five years. The monthly distribution of the cases shows 96 cases (63%) were reported last month.

As far as a geographical distribution of cases is concerned, the maximum number of dengue cases have been reported from the Najafgarh zone (613), followed by South (567) and Central (436). The City Sadar Paharganj zone has reported the highest number of malaria cases at 95 and Shahdara North zone led in chikungunya cases, reporting 75 cases.