NEW DELHI: At least 545 fresh dengue cases were reported over the last week in Delhi, taking the total number of people affected this season to 1730, according to a municipal report released today.
The number of cases of dengue reported till September 2 was 1,185, thus a jump of 46 per cent in a week.
The total number of cases of malaria and chikungunya recorded till September 9 stand at 611 and 432, respectively.
Of the 1730 cases of dengue, 829 affected people were residents of Delhi, while the rest were patients from other states. Of the 829 cases of Delhi residents, 125 were reported this month.
As many as 518 cases were recorded in August.
Vector-borne diseases are reported between mid-July and November-end. Cases of all the three vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier this time, which doctors had attributed to early arrival of the monsoon.
Dengue and chikungunya are caused by aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water. Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.
According to the report, breeding of mosquitoes has been reported at 1,75,051 households in Delhi. All the three municipal corporations have stepped up awareness drives distributing pamphlets and plying vehicles with loudspeakers issuing dos and don'ts for prevention of the diseases.
The city government has banned over-the-counter sale of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and brufen as their use may "pose a threat" to dengue and chikungunya patients.
At least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported last year at various hospitals, including nine at AIIMS, though the official tally of the civic bodies stood at 10. 17 deaths suspected to be due to malaria were also reported by the civic bodies.
At least 15 fatalities were reported last year at various hospitals in the city due to complications triggered by chikungunya, though the civic bodies have kept the death tally at zero.
In one of the worst outbreaks, a total of 12,221 chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016, out of which 9,749 were confirmed.