The Capital has registered it first dengue death this season with a 12-year-old boy succumbing to the vector-borne disease, municipal authorities said on Monday.
“Nitish Kumar, who hailed from Bihar and was residing in Safdarjung, died at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. I met the family, and our heart goes out to them. However, blaming each other will not help in such a situation. We need to ensure that more such deaths do not happen now,” said South Delhi Mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat.
Authorities at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said: “The boy was brought to the hospital on July 30 and died due to dengue haemorrhagic fever on August 1”.
Shocking numbers
The city has reported as many as 657 cases of dengue this year so far, out of which 325 cases of are from within the city. At least 153 cases were reported this month alone, till August 19.
Apart from this, the city has also registered 215 cases of malaria and 194 cases of chikungunya till now — the highest number of the cases since 2012.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said that it has already provided all logistical and technical support to the States, including Delhi, in terms of surveillance and diagnostic kits to strengthen their efforts in addressing vector-borne diseases.
Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda has directed officials to conduct regular supervisory visits to hospitals to assess the situation and preparedness, and to provide on-the-spot technical guidance to the health authorities.
He also told officials to be monitor the situation in the northern states, including Delhi, as cases of vector-borne diseases increase after monsoon. Meanwhile, the Ministry has requested States and UTs to declare dengue as a notifiable disease. Delhi is one of only 13 States/UTs to have declared it as such.
