Civic hospitals recorded 26 cases of dengue, 16 of leptospirosis last week

Civic officials have attributed the spike in the number of cases to the stagnant rainwater accumulated in parts of the city, which may have turned into breeding spots for mosquitoes

Twenty-six cases of dengue and 16 of leptospirosis were recorded across civic hospitals last week, revealed a report compiled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) epidemiology cell. Last month, 63 cases of dengue and 76 cases of leptospirosis were recorded, stated the report.

Civic officials have attributed the spike in the number of cases to the stagnant rainwater accumulated in parts of the city, which may have turned into breeding spots for mosquitoes. “Stagnant water accumulated in several parts of the city must have led to an increase in the number of mosquito breeding sites,” said Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer, BMC.

“While the number of cases this year is higher as compared to last year, we have seen a sharp decline in the number of deaths,” she said. Five leptospirosis deaths have been reported this monsoon.

BMC’s insecticide department officials said they surveyed 11,37,380 houses in July this year, of which 2,155 had breeding zones for the Aedes mosquitoes, which are carriers of the dengue virus.

“The most commonly found breeding spots in high-rises were flower pots and defrost trays. However, in the slums, most of the breeding spots were in water drums,” said Rajan Naringrekar, BMC’s insecticide officer.

Dr Om Srivastava, infectious disease specialist, said, “I have been seeing about five dengue cases a week. The numbers are expected to rise.”