NEW DELHI: Dengue is witnessing a resurge in Delhi, which has already recorded 5,277 cases this season, the highest since 2015, according to a civic report on vector-borne diseases released on Monday. As per the data, there were no fresh fatalities. Of the total cases, 2,570 were recorded over the previous week.
Officials, however, claimed that many new cases are being reported in November because hospitals are sending old data. "Many new hospitals have started sending in data, which was not the case earlier. If there were around 70 hospitals earlier, both private and government, their count has now gone up to nearly 160, showing a surge in the figures of the vector-borne disease," said a civic agency official.
Last time the city saw such an outbreak was in the year 2015, when the number of reported cases reached almost 16,000 while the fatality figure was 60. The figures showed it was the worst outbreak in the national capital since 1996.
"Currently, we have only 34 dengue patients. In a day, we are seeing around 10-15 cases on an average. I cannot really say if the caseload has come down. Many times we are getting referral patients from Noida or other neighbouring areas who come here for admission," said Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital. However, AIIMS officials noted that the new cases are down by half, although they say patients are coming in.
Of the total dengue cases in Delhi this year, 3,740 were reported in the first 13 days of November. In October, 1,196 cases were reported. The total number of cases this year until November 6 stood at 2,708 while the official death toll was nine. As per the report, 166 cases of malaria and 89 cases of chikungunya have also been reported till November 13. The civic bodies have intensified fogging and spraying drives.