Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

The city has recorded 218 cases of dengue this month, taking the tally to 1,107 this year. A total of three patients died of the disease.

While daily cases have started to show a decrease from 40 to over 20 now, city residents are still facing a shortage of platelet kits in the market.

Varun, a city resident, had put up a request on the social media for purchasing platelets kits. According to him, no platelet kits were available with local chemists. Many people whose family members are suffering from dengue are putting up requests on the social media regarding platelets kits.

The outbreak of dengue this year has been attributed to the DENV-2 strain, which is more virulent and can induce mortality and high fever in patients. Another reason behind the surge is delayed monsoon due to which maximum cases cropped up in October. The dengue mosquito cannot breed as the temperature falls and hence relief is expected once there is a dip in the temperature.

This year, the UT Health Department issued maximum challans and show-cause notices to city residents and institutions for violating dengue norms by not keeping their surroundings clean and giving mosquitoes more space for breeding. A total of 474 challans, 9,703 notices and 335 show-cause notices were issued this year.