"With 13 fresh positive cases of dengue, the total has reached 1,054. There are 13 cases in which the infection has been contracted from outside Delhi," Debashish Bhattacharya, Delhi government's nodal officer for dengue, said.
Almost negligible dengue cases were reported from June to September this year. However, with the late arrival of the monsoon in the capital, there has been a drastic increase in the dengue cases since mid-October, stated the health officials.
Fatalities so far
So far, the capital has reported two confirmed deaths from dengue—those of a 15-year-old boy and a nine-year-old boy.
Two more deaths were reported from the capital, however, these have not been counted in the figures because the health officials suspect that the patients were not confirmed residents of the capital. They had come over for a treatment.
Dengue’s spread to be contained with fall in temperature
The health officials are hoping that the spread of the vector-borne disease is expected to slow down with a further drop in the mercury level.
"The cases are expected to go down gradually," Bhattacharya said.
The capital reported 400 cases in the last 15 days. However, the health officials stated that the number of dengue cases have been declining with the arrival of the winter season.
Earlier 20-25 dengue cases were reported daily, while the per day figure in the last five days reported 9, 10, 13 and 13 and 13 cases.
It has been noted that the dengue virus is most active in relatively warmer and humid weather, with temperatures ranging between 16 and 30 degrees Celsius.
Dengue: The vector-borne disease
A mosquito-borne seasonal disease, dengue, is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any of four closely related dengue viruses (DENV 1-4).
This mosquito can be easily spotted because of its atypical white spotted body and legs.
Symptoms of dengue range from high fever, severe headache, and relentless pain in the joints, muscles and bones to rashes and mild bleeding from nose or gums.
A severe form of dengue infection, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), can be fatal if not detected.
As such, there are no specific antiviral medicines for treating the dengue fever, but it is very important to maintain hydration.
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