Delhi: Of 23 dengue deaths this year, 15 were children

Moreover, 131 new dengue cases were added to the weekly bulletin on Monday, taking the total number of infections this year to 9,545.

The six deaths, which were added to the toll, had occurred during the months of October and November.

Six more deaths due to dengue from October and November were added to the official toll on Monday, taking the total number of deaths this year to 23. This is the highest official toll after the outbreak in 2015, which affected nearly 16,000 people and killed 60. All six deaths reported were in children aged between eight months and 15 years, according to information provided by the Municipal Corporations of Delhi.

This includes an eight-month-old boy from Kirari, seven-year-old boy from Prem Nagar, an eight-year-old girl from Dakshinpuri, a 10-year-old boy from Tri-Nagar, a 13-year-old boy from Om Vihar extension, and a 15-year-old boy from Mehrauli. Three of the deaths happened in the last ten days of October and the other three through November. In fact, fifteen of the 23 persons who died of dengue this year were children.

The deaths get added to the official toll only after a review by an expert death audit committee finds that the infection was the primary cause of death and that it was acquired in Delhi itself. The actual number of deaths reported from city hospitals is likely to be higher as several persons from the National Capital Region as well as the neighbouring states come to Delhi for treatment.

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“Other than the 23 deaths from Delhi, there were 24 from neighbouring states as well. Because Delhi is a medical hub many people travel here to get treatment especially when they are very sick. There are no more deaths that happened after this; there was a delay in confirmation because the reports and case files from the hospitals came in very late,” said a senior official from the corporation.

There were 131 new cases of the infection added to the weekly bulletin on Monday, taking the total number of cases this year to 9,545. The number of infections is also the highest since the 2015 outbreak. To be sure, a part of the increase in the number of cases this year can be attributed to the government in October making it mandatory for all hospitals, nursing homes, standalone clinics, and diagnostic centres to report cases of dengue and other vector-borne disease such as malaria and chikungunya under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

This is clear from the fact that a majority of the cases were reported in November this year – 6,739 of the total cases. In comparison, even during the outbreak year of 2015, only 841 cases were reported in November.

Officials from the municipal corporations also pointed to the delayed rains this year for more cases being seen in November. “There has been an increase in reporting of cases as well as deaths this year because of the notification,” an MCD official said. Usually, the highest numbers are seen in September and October, with the number of cases going down as temperature dips.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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