Even though the total number of chikungunya and dengue cases has crossed 5,000 and 2,000 respectively in the Capital, the municipal authorities say the rush of patients at the dedicated fever clinics has gone down.
Highest chikungunya tally
According to the municipal corporations’ report released on Monday, Delhi saw 1,598 new chikungunya cases in the week that ended on October 1, taking the total for 2016 to 5,293. This is the highest number of chikungunya cases in years. For instance, there were 64 cases in all in 2015.
The number of dengue cases also went up in the past week, with 441 new cases.
Last year, Delhi had seen a record-breaking 15,867 cases of dengue. As of October 1 this year, there have been 2,133 confirmed cases of dengue.
According to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, which runs fever clinics at Bara Hindu Rao Hospital and Kasturba Hospital, many of the new cases confirmed in the past week had first been reported in the peak of the monsoon.
“It takes time to confirm the cases so most of the new cases in the past week pertain to the previous weeks. In fact, we have seen a decline in the number of patients attending our fever clinics,” said Dr. D.K. Seth, the Director of Hospital Administration of the North Corporation.
Dr. Seth explained that the fever clinic at Hindu Rao would see an average of 1,200 to 1,400 patients every day at the height of the season, but is now seeing between 500 to 900 patients. He added that greater awareness about the need to prevent mosquito breeding and emergency measures like fumigation have helped in reducing the density of mosquitoes.
