NEW DELHI: Dengue is rearing its head again in Delhi with total number of cases reported this year till first week of September reaching to nearly 1,260, the highest number for the period in the past five years.
According to a municipal report released today, out of the total cases reported till September 5, all fresh 428 cases were from this month.
The highest number month-wise is still August, with as many as 778 cases reported. Till August 31, a total of 831 cases were reported.
The alarming rise in the number of cases for the vector- borne disease in the capital has also put the civic bodies on their toes, all of which are now further intensifying their awareness-cum-prevention drive against it.
The number of cases from January 1 to September 5 for the last four years before 2015 are - 33 (2014), 255 (2013), 17 (2012), 104 (2011). For the same period in 2010, over 1,500 cases were reported.
Two casualties have been officially reported due to the vector-borne disease while a 10-year-girl, whose death in the first week of August, has been designated by the municipal bodies as a suspected dengue case.
With demand for platelets shooting up across the city, the Delhi Health Department has ordered all government blood banks to stock enough platelets and also asked private blood banks to ensure their availability at nominal rates.
"We have also asked medical superintendents of all the hospitals in Delhi to increase the capacity of beds in dengue wards to deal with the rising number of cases. We are consistently monitoring the situation," a senior Health Department official said.
At the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here, a new 35-bedded ward will soon be opened for dengue patients.
Out of the total cases, north Delhi recorded the highest at 511, south Delhi at 349 while east Delhi posted the lowest with 114 cases. Of all civic zones in the city, Narela Zone of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has recored the highest number with 192 cases.
186 cases were reported from areas outside the jurisdiction of the municipal corporations in the city while 40 cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh and 13 from Haryana.
46 cases were reported from other states.
Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.
Till September 5, the number of houses found positive for mosquito breeding stands at 1,62,509 while number of prosecution launched in the same period is 14,445, according to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which compiles the report on behalf of all civic bodies.
Uptil recently, the SDMC had issued over 80 challans to government and educational institutions in the city, including JNU, DDA, DTC and PWD for breeding of mosquitoes in their premises.