Dengue deaths double in Maharashtra from 21 in 2017 to 44 in 2018

The total number of dengue cases in the state also doubled with 8,192 cases in 2018 as compared to 4,797 last year.

Dengue deaths have nearly doubled in Maharashtra in 2018 as compared to 2017, suggests data from the health department. Forty-four people in the state succumbed to dengue in 2018 as against 21 last year. The highest numbers of deaths — 14 and 12 — were recorded in Kolhapur and Mumbai respectively.

Dengue is a viral infection, caused by the bite of an Aedes Aegypti mosquito infected with the virus. (HT File)

The total number of dengue cases in the state also doubled with 8,192 cases in 2018 as compared to 4,797 last year.

State entomologist Mahendra Jagtap said nearly 68% of the cases this year were recorded in urban areas.

“A part of the problem is poor solid waste management. We see garbage, such as tin cans, dumped on the roads. Water gets accumulated in these, making it ideal for mosquitoes to breed in them.”

Dengue is a viral infection, caused by the bite of an Aedes Aegypti mosquito infected with the virus. Once infected, humans become the source of the virus for uninfected mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the past 50 years.

Up to 50-100 million infections are now estimated to occur annually in more than 100 endemic countries, putting almost half of the world’s population at risk, according to the WHO.

Dr Om Srivastava, an infectious disease specialist and a member of the state’s technical committee for outbreaks of infectious diseases, attributed the rise in cases to better reporting and surveillance in the state. “People are also coming forward to seek treatment sooner — which is why we are getting more cases.” According to Srivastava, dengue cases are being detected across all age-groups.

Dr Pradip Awate, the state’s surveillance officer, said Kolhapur reporting the highest number of cases is surprising. “We can understand that the dengue cases and deaths in Mumbai are high because of the high population density, but Kolhapur doesn’t have that problem.”

Another state official, however, said acute shortage of manpower within the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation to identify breeding spots and perform anti-larval activities may be the reason.

“There are 64 wards in Kolhapur, but the civic body has only 42 field workers. As per norms, there should be 30 such workers for every ward. Also, Kolhapur faces water scarcity, a reason why people store water, which become breeding sites for mosquitoes.”