Chill tames dengue attack

The winter chill is slowly setting in and the figures of dengue cases seem to be subsiding in the city.

The winter chill is slowly setting in and the figures of dengue cases seem to be subsiding in the city.

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Officials of the Gurgaon’s health department claimed that no fresh dengue case had been registered for nearly a week now.

Though the department had registered 42 fresh cases on Monday, no new case has come to the fore.

At present, the dengue count is tagged at 457 with one death.

“The cases of dengue are subsiding. We have not received any fresh case for quite a long time. The last case was recorded before Diwali,” said Parveen Garg, chief medical officer.

Officials claimed the 42 dengue cases registered on Monday were piled up over the previous week due to holidays on account of Haryana Diwas and Karva Chauth.

Doctors in both private as well as government hospitals said, “The Aedes mosquito goes into hibernation when the temperature dips. The atmospheric temperature in Gurgaon on Saturday was 9 degree Celsius with 50% humidity level.”

Nevertheless, this year’s dengue count of 457 has not been able to surpass the record-breaking numbers of 2010 and 2008.

In 2010, 781 dengue cases and 14 deaths were registered, while 607 cases and three deaths were registered in 2008.

In 2002, the department did not register any case.

The lowest figure was registered in 2001, at five cases.

Doctors say with the onset of winter and due to falling temperature, cases of dengue are likely to decrease in the city, bringing respite to residents.