The total number of dengue cases in Delhi has crossed the 9,169-mark with 97 cases reported previous week, according to a data released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday. Meanwhile, the number of people affected by malaria has also climbed to 1,139 while the figure for chikungunya stands at 923 with six new cases reported previous week. However, there is a decline in the numbers of these cases as the season for vector-borne diseases is coming to an end.
Of the 9,169 dengue cases this year, 4,681 patients belonged to Delhi, while 4,488 had come to the city from other States for treatment.
The mosquito-borne tropical disease had claimed its first victim in the city this year on August 1, when a 12-year-old boy died of dengue shock syndromes at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH).
Three more deaths were reported in October by the (SDMC, which tabulates the data for the entire city.
The civic body, however, is yet to acknowledge two fatalities due to dengue at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital and the death of a boy at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital due to the vector-borne disease.
According to the RML Hospital authorities, Shaurya Pratap Singh (7) had died on November 22, two days after he was admitted to the hospital, the latest dengue death to be reported from the national Capital.
The number of dengue cases recorded in the city stood at 2,022 in October, while 816 cases were reported last month. Thirty-six cases have been reported this month till December 9. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end but may stretch till mid- December. This year, however, the disease had spread much earlier.
Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in clean water. The female anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, breeds in both clean and muddy water. According to the SDMC, mosquito breeding was reported from 2,10,752 Delhi households till December 9. The number of cases recorded in areas falling under the north, south and east Delhi municipal corporations stood at 705, 704 and 420 respectively.