Increased rainfall and a negligent approach to curb the breeding of mosquitoes seems to have caused trouble for the capital, as there have been 480 dengue cases thus far this year, including 140 cases reported just over the past week. This represents the highest number of dengue cases reported till mid-October in the last three years.

The number of cases reported between January 1 and October 9 in the previous three years stood at 316 (2020), 467 (2019) and 830 (2018), according to the MCD report. Mukherjee Nagar reported the highest number of cases (25 of 114) in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation jurisdiction.

A resident of Mukherjee Nagar’s Munshi Ram Colony, Gulshan Ahiwar, reported that his cousin and his neighbor tested positive for dengue over the past few days and blamed lax efforts to control mosquito population and breeding for the spread. He said that there has been no fogging or spraying of medicines of late. 

Doctors across hospitals are reporting increasing number of patients with dengue symptoms. Dr Atul Gogia, Senior Consultant at the Department of Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that there has been an increase in cases from Delhi and neighboring areas. He added that last year, they only saw COVID-19 cases, except for a few dengue cases intermittently. However, every couple of years, a spike in dengue cases is seen. Dr Gogia further stated that around 5 to 10% of cases progressed to serious illness and complications in the form of multi-organ involvement, fluid accumulation in the lungs or abdomen, swelling in the liver or low platelet count.

MCD data suggest that the highest number of cases so far (141) has been reported from the South civic body, followed by the North and the East bodies. Senior officials said that house visits for checking mosquito-borne diseases have been increased. The number of houses being sprayed to control mosquito breeding has increased from 9 lakh last year to 18 lakh this year. Moreover, 2.1 crore visits have been made by domestic breeding checkers to households till now, compared to 1.7 crore last year. The number of cases has still seen a steep rise in comparison with the past two years.

Residents; however, complained that the efforts are not visible on the ground. Residents of Timarpur’s Sanjay Basti said that they are forgotten people. A resident, Preeti, said that officials spray medicines at homes and shops on the main road. It is not done on the inside lanes. She showed some drains carrying waste water; some were uncovered and clogged with waste while few were covered.

Monsoons retreated later than usual this year, and therefore, officials think that the last week of October and November are crucial.

Dr Neeraj Nischal, Additional Professor, Department of Medicine, AIIMS, said that there is generally a cyclical trend with dengue and that this could be a viral factor. Otherwise, he added, that it could be possible that when there is a surge in cases in a particular year, we take adequate precautions the next year to control the vector. Last year, there was no surge in cases, he said.

Dr Gogia and Dr Nischal said that co-infections of COVID and dengue have not been reported this year. 

Senior officials at the South civic body stated that although there were increased efforts to curb the disease this year compared to last year, other factors like increased rainfall this monsoon, junked vehicles serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and some people not supporting anti-mosquito drives are also accountable for the increase in cases.

Some residents of gated colonies do not let domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) to enter and issue challans if stagnant water is detected. A DBC worker in North MCD said that most of the gated colonies limit entry, adding that they should be given the power to issue notices to those who do not allow them to enter. 

Common symptoms of dengue include high fever, pain behind the eyes, rashes and headache. Dr Gogia said that a large number of patients have constantly high fever for four to five days, with chills and body aches. Some cases may become more complicated.

Dr Nischal stated that dengue has a strong immunological component which can cause major complications, which usually start manifesting after the fever subsides. 

Source: The Indian Express