Come monsoons and Delhi becomes a hotbed for mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya. But this year, Chikungunya has taken a precedence over other vector-borne diseases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and experts attribute this phenomenon to the changing weather conditions that have led to high humidity. Though the Municipal Corporation of Delhi claims that only 20 cases of Chikungunya have been reported this year, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where cases from other states are also examined, has recorded nearly twenty times that number in its lab. According to AIIMS data, 391 samples tested positive for Chikungunya till August 20. The figures are backed by data from National Vector Borne Disease Control (NVBDC), the central nodal agency, which shows at least 256 cases of Chikungunya at various hospitals in Delhi, sources said.
“This year monsoons have come early and the above average rainfall have decreased the incubation period of the Chikungunya virus in mosquitoes. This has led to a large number of people being
infected by the same mosquito,” Dr Damanjit Chaddha, Associate Director, Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital told The Sunday Standard.
In Delhi, overcrowding is another factor. Many patients are from the same family making it obvious that they have been infected by the same mosquito. Doctors feel that due to the failure to control mosquito breeding, there is a spurt in Chikungunya cases.
As far as Dengue is concerned, at least 171 cases have been reported in Delhi this season with 52 of these being recorded in the first week of August. Ninety one cases were reported in July, and 15 in June.
Last year, the city saw 15,867 dengue cases—worst in 20 years—with the disease claiming 60 lives, as per municipal reports.
“There has in fact been a decrease in Dengue cases this year as the strain which is in circulation is very mild,” Dr K K Agrawal of the Indian Medical Association said.
The Delhi government though has not yet made any official statement regarding a spurt in cases and the municipal authorities claim that the fumigation drive to control mosquito breeding was also on track.
According to the NVBDC, over the past three years, there has been a consistent increase in Chikungunya cases in the country—from 16,049 in 2014, to 27,553 in 2015 and 9,990 cases until July 28 this year.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Chikungunya yet and doctors mainly rely on symptomatic treatment of the disease. According to Agrawal, Chikungunya is not fatal and does not require hospitalisation. “Wearing long-sleeved clothes, using mosquito repellent with permethrin and checking for breeding in and outside one’s house is the key.”