Chikungunya cases spike, one dead

The national capital reported its first confirmed chikungunya death on Monday at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The city is witnessing a sudden outbreak of vector-borne diseases, with a 50 per cent increase in cases of dengue and around 90 per cent increase in chikungunya cases. With 390 new cases last week, 1,158 cases of dengue have been reported this year so far. Similarly, with 497 new cases, the total number chikungunya patients rose to 1,057 till September 10. Municipal reports, released on Monday, were still claiming only four deaths due to dengue in the city and two from outside; the country’s premier hospital, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has, however, witnessed five deaths due to dengue and one from chikunguniya since September 1.

Sources at the AIIMS said that the institute had witnessed six deaths, five from dengue and one from chikungunya, this month. “The last death was of a 30 year-old man, who tested positive for dengue. He died on September 9,” they added. At least nine deaths due to dengue have been reported this year till August in the national capital.

According to the report, 255 dengue cases had been reported from areas falling under the jurisdiction of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The central zone of the SDMC recorded 100 cases, the highest among its four zones.

Najafgarh, west and south zones reported 70, 43 and 42 cases, respectively. The NDMC and EDMC recorded 105 and 70 cases respectively while 374 cases were reported from areas falling outside the jurisdiction of municipal corporations in the city.

While 89 cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh, 31 of those diagnosed with the disease came from Haryana and 234 from other states.

Similarly, 497 fresh cases of chikungunya reported last week amounts to a rise of around 90 per cent from its count by the civic body on September 3.

Out of the total number of cases this season, 202 were recorded from the SDMC area, followed by 148 from NDMC and 57 from EDMC. Four zones of SDMC’s west, central, south and Najafgarh reported 56, 57, 56 and 33 cases respectively while 540 cases were recorded from areas outside the jurisdiction of the three municipal corporations.

“Delhi is presently going through a dengue and chikungunya outbreak and not an epidemic, and the cases will continue to come in for the next one month. Common symptoms of dengue include fever along with headache, body ache, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting,” said Dr K.K. Aggarwal, secretary-general, Indian Medical Association (IMA).