Dengue cases on the rise

The city has seen 100% rise in the number of dengue cases in the last 15 days, with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) reporting eight to 10 cases of the vector-borne disease daily. About 72 new dengue cases were reported last week alone, with 16 cases — the highest so far in a single day — reported on Saturday.

The city has seen 100% rise in the number of dengue cases in the last 15 days, with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) reporting eight to 10 cases of the vector-borne disease daily. About 72 new dengue cases were reported last week alone, with 16 cases — the highest so far in a single day — reported on Saturday.

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"We have admitted five people with a platelet count of less than 20,000 due to dengue. I see an equal number of cases each day with dengue-like symptoms, all of who test positive for the disease. After the rains have subsided, this is an ideal environment for the breeding of disease-causing mosquitoes," said Dr SP Byotra, chairman, department of medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

With eight new cases reported on Monday, the total number of people having contracted the infection since January this year has reached 283. Three people, including a one-and-a-half year old child in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, have died of the disease till date this year.

Though the disease usually peaks around the month of October, officials from the health department of MCD claim the numbers this year are far less than in the past.

"It will not be right to say that the numbers are increasing, as what we are reporting this year is nearly one-tenth of the number of cases reported last year till date," said Dr NK Yadav, medical health officer, MCD.

"Since this is the peak time, people need to take extra precautions to not provide conducive environment for mosquito breeding,” said Dr VK Monga, chairman, MCD's health committee.

The number of chikungunya cases has also reached 10, with two new cases reported last week. "Only two of these people have traveled to south , the rest all have contracted the infection in the city. We are keeping a close watch," Dr Monga added.