NEW DELHI: An eight-month-old boy is among the six minors to have succumbed to dengue in past two months, taking the dengue death tally in Delhi to 23 in 2021, according to the report released on Monday by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) – the nodal agency for tabulating data on vector-borne diseases in the city.
The number of dengue cases crossed 9,500 in the city, though about 130 fresh cases have been logged in the last one week; the rise being far less than what it was till a few weeks ago. Till December 18, the official dengue death tally, maintained by the SDMC had stood at 17. According to the civic body’s
report on vector-borne diseases released on Monday, a total of 9,545 dengue cases and 23 deaths have been recorded till December 25.
These six fatalities being reported now, took place between late October and late November, a senior SDMC official said. One of the victims, an infant boy, was aged just eight months. A resident of Kirari, he died at CNBC Hospital on November 3, the official said.
Other minors who succumbed to dengue in this period included a 15-year-old boy from Mehrauli, who expired at Rainbow Children Hospital on October 28, while an 8-year-old girl from Dakshinpuri died at AIIMS Hospital on November 5, according to the details shared by SDMC officials. Three other minors, all boys, aged, 7, 10 and 13 years, succumbed to dengue on October 29, October 21 and November 21, the official said.
A total of 1,269 cases of dengue have been recorded in December till the 25th. In the previous years, the dengue cases reported were 4,431 (2016), 4,726 (2017), 2,798 (2018), 2,036 (2019) and 1,072 (2020. In 2015, the city had witnessed the worst dengue outbreak since 1996 with the cases crossing 10,600 in October itself, making it the worst dengue outbreak in the national capital.
The number of dengue fatalities this year is the highest in the national capital since 2016, when the death count was 10. The national capital recorded two dengue deaths in 2019, four in 2018, and 10 each in 2017 and 2016.
