More dengue cases in Delhi this year than last five years, data shows
As per the report presented at Friday’s meeting, there has been a positive impact on reporting of dengue cases due to the gazette notification issued in 2021.
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Delhi witnessed heavy waterlogging last week. ( Express File Photo)Amid record showers in the national capital, Delhi has reported more dengue cases this year as compared to the previous five years, data shows.
According to officials, however, the figure can be attributed to better reporting, including from private laboratories.
A total of 246 cases have been recorded in the city between January 1 and June 29 this year, the highest for the time period since at least 2019.
On Friday, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj held a meeting with the officials of state health department and civic bodies regarding the preparedness against the viral disease and other vector-borne ailments.
Dengue cases and deaths were discussed in a report presented during the meeting. Last year, the city reported 122 cases till June 29, half of what has been reported this year, along with 19 deaths.
Speaking with the Indian Express, Bharadwaj said there has been an increase in the reporting of cases.
“We conducted a meeting last week where we found that the number of cases is higher this year. When we asked officials, they said that this was because there is better reporting from labs, which was not the case earlier. We then asked them to get us details from government hospitals so that a comparison could be drawn.
At Safdarjung Hospital, for example, the number of cases so far are almost one fourth of what was reported last year; at Lok Nayak Hospital, the number of cases are almost the same as last year,” he said.
He said the situation was under control at present.
“There are no worrying signs. We have also directed the health officials to determine the serotype of the prevailing dengue virus in the city. So far, the samples have shown that it is DenV 2 strain,” he said, adding that the sampling is currently low and will be increased soon.
As per the report presented at Friday’s meeting, there has been a positive impact on reporting of dengue cases due to the gazette notification issued in 2021.
It said that reporting of vector-borne diseases has strengthened over time resulting in better surveillance due to more reporting units at super speciality hospitals, private hospitals and Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).
Delhi on June 28 recorded heavy rain, after which significant rainfall has been received on two days in the past week.
Even as the intensity of rain has abated, waterlogging woes continued to haunt several areas, which upped the concerns on mosquito breeding.
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