Dengue in Delhi: Death toll rises 14, over 1,150 people affected

New Delhi: The death toll due to dengue in the national capital has gone up to 14 with Aiims confirming five more fatalities due to the vector-borne disease which has affected over 1,150 people this season. “The five deaths from dengue took place between 1-13 September,” a top Aiims official told PTI. On Monday, the premier institute had said that it was looking into the details of these “five suspected cases”. [caption id=“attachment_2980102” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Till Tuesday, at least nine deaths due to dengue were reported this year in the national capital, though the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which compiles the report on vector-borne diseases on behalf of all civic bodies, has maintained the death toll at four. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences is getting several dengue patients everyday in its fever clinics. However, the dengue cases are less than chikungunya, for which 1,440 blood samples have tested positive till 13 September. At least 1,158 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first 10 days of September, the month in which the vector- borne disease begins to peak. As many as 387 cases were reported this month, marking a rise of over 50 percent from the previous count, according to a municipal report released on Thursday. Over 770 cases were reported till 3 September this season. Out of the total number of cases, August alone has accounted for 652. The last dengue fatality reported was of Iram Khan (25), a native of Meerut, who lived in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi and succumbed to dengue on 31 August at Apollo Hospital. The other three deaths reported by SDMC include Nazish (38), sister-in-law of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who had died of dengue shock syndrome at Apollo Hospital on 12 August. Muskan (12), a resident of Shaheen Bagh, had died on 29 July, while Deepak (19), from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to the disease on 27 July. Both succumbed at Safdarjung Hospital. Besides, five other fatalities have been reported by different hospitals in the city, which have not been acknowledged yet by the SDMC. This year, dengue cases have been reported rather early. The vector-borne disease had claimed its first victim on 21 July when a girl from Jafrabad in northeast Delhi died at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital. Last year, the city saw a staggering 15,867 dengue cases - the worst in 20 years - with the disease claiming 60 lives, as per municipal reports. In 2015, August and September had seen 778 and 6,775 cases respectively while October had recorded a staggering 7,283 cases. In 2015, only six cases were reported in June, while 36 were registered in July. In 1996, a severe outbreak of dengue had occurred in Delhi when about 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported.