6 More Dengue Cases Reported in Delhi, Total Goes Up to 92

Six fresh cases of dengue were reported in the national capital yesterday, taking number of those affected by the mosquito-related illness to whopping 92.

The total number of people infected with the deadly dengue disease in Delhi has gone up as compared to past year and the large numbers of cases are being reported from the good localities in Gurgaon which shows that people are not paying any heed to health authorities in terms of helping them in eliminating Aedes Aegypti breeding.

Dr N K Yadav, Municipal Health Officer, MCD, said, "Delhi has reported 92 cases of dengue this year. No dengue death has been confirmed."

On Wednesday, a suspected death from mosquito borne disease was reported from the Delhi Cantonment area but still tests are needed to be done to reach at any conclusion.

The Municipal Health Officer said that the civic bodies are taking all necessary preventive measures including checking of premises for mosquito breeding, to prevent the spread of the disease.

West Delhi remained the hard hit with Najafgarh municipal zone and West zone reporting fifteen cases each, second number was Karol Bagh and city zones which reported 7 cases each and Shahdara North and South zones reported 6 cases each.

Vijender Gupta, MCD Standing Committee Chairman has asked the officials to get daily reports from the domestic breeding checkers.

He said, "They should take signatures of house owners to prove that they have actually carried out the checking."

Adding further he said, “There is a need to fix accountability. “

Normally the cases of dengue starts appearing in August end and reach their peak in October before coming down, the Municipal officials said.

At this time of year when there is enough moisture in the air which helps in breeding of mosquitoes and the city reporting much higher number of dengue cases as compared to past year, the civic authorities are taking all necessary preventive measure to prevent the spread of the disease.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)issued notices to several offices and premises which were found to be acting as breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Ironically, many government building has their name included in the list, such as Nirman Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan housing key ministries as also many prominent city hospitals.

On Tuesday, the health officials told that this year nearly 299 people have died due to malaria and 19 others due to dengue throughout the nation.

In year 2006, in Delhi only 3366 cases were reported of dengue fever and 25 people died due to the illness.

Dengue is a viral disease caused by ‘flavivirus’ which is carried by the mosquito known as Aedes aegypti that causes a spectrum of illnesses, such as dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome. Dengue Fever is an infectious disease which is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito and is characterized by severe pains in the eyes, head and extremities.

Symptoms range from a sudden onset of fever, with severe headache, muscle and joint pains and rashes; the dengue rash is characteristically bright red patch and usually appears first on the lower limbs and the chest. But in some people, the red patch spreads to cover most of the body. In few cases there is internal bleeding; this is known as dengue hemorrhagic fever. Sometimes people get mild symptoms with no ‘rash’ and hence it gets misdiagnosed as flu or other viral infection.

Till now there is no vaccine for preventing dengue. So the best preventive measure for people living in areas infested with Aedes aegypti is to eliminate the places where the mosquito lays her eggs, primarily artificial containers that hold water.

Make sure you cover properly or discard all the items which can hold water and provide breeding ground for mosquito such as plastic containers, big drums, buckets, or used automobile tires. Use insecticide treated mosquito nets and curtains at night, use repellents, wear protective clothes preferably sprayed with a repellent.