With 41 cases, Chikungunya on a new high

With the city reporting eight new cases of chikungunya, and 41 cases in all this season, the mosquito borne infection seems to be on a constant rise. Last year, there were only five chikungunya cases during the corresponding period.

With the city reporting eight new cases of chikungunya, and 41 cases in all this season, the mosquito borne infection seems to be on a constant rise. Last year, there were only five chikungunya cases during the corresponding period.

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Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bite of infected aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

"While the infection was initially restricted to Palam village, it is now being detected in other parts of the city as well, which is not a very healthy sign," said Dr VK Monga, chairman, public health committee, Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

"So far, the highest number of cases of chikungunya has been reported from Najafgarh, which is a worrisome trend. We are awaiting the results of two more suspected chikungunya cases," he said.

Symptoms of chikungunya include fever, debilitating arthralgia (joint pain), swelling of joints, stiffness, myalgia (muscular pain), headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and rashes.

According to health experts, the incubation period (time from infection to illness) for chikungunya can be 2-12 days, but is usually 3-7 days.

Additionally, some patients have reported incapacitating joint pain, or arthritis, which may last for weeks or months. The prolonged joint pain associated with the chikungunya virus is not typical of dengue.

With the morning and evening temperatures dipping gradually over the last couple of days, the numbers of dengue cases have seen a gradual decline in Delhi. Till about 10 days ago, the city was reporting an average of 70 cases of dengue daily.

On Tuesday, 35 new cases of dengue were reported, taking the total number of people infected with the vector-borne disease to 5,837, according to the MCD report.

Shahdara (North) zone with 786 dengue patients has the highest number of cases, followed by 742 in Rohini and 642 in Civil Lines. There have been eight dengue deaths in the city so far.