The Capital saw a surge in the number of dengue cases with 314 new cases being reported in the last seven days. Chikungunya and dengue continue to wreak havoc in Delhi with the number of deaths from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 40 and together affecting over 5,387 people this season alone.
At least 1,692 cases of dengue have been reported in the Capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first 10 days of September, the month in which the disease begins to peak.
“Delhi is witnessing a spurt in chikungunya after nearly 10 years, which is being attributed to “evolution” in the chikungunya viral strain. Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the same aedes aegypti mosquito, but dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while chikungunya is caused only by one strain. Chikungunya is not a life-threatening in general, but in some cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons,” note doctors.
“As for dengue, some strains are more virulent than the others,” explained National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) director A. C. Dhariwal.
Dr. R.K. Singal, principal consultant and director and co-ordinator of Medical and Allied Services, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, said: “Many people have been visiting our hospital suspecting symptoms for chikungunya in the past few days. Signs and symptoms of chikungunya usually appear two to seven days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. The virus causes high fever and moderate to severe joint pain around three to seven days after infection. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Swollen joints and redness in eyes and difficulty in looking at light are commonly seen in patients suffering from this disease. Chikungunya is diagnosed by ELISA blood test which is the reliable way to identify it since the symptoms are similar to much more deadly dengue fever which is detection of IgM antibodies. These antibodies persist up to 6 months. Also co-occurrence of these diseases are seen in many places.”
People travelling to an area with known outbreaks of chikungunya virus should take precautions. Since chikungunya is not transmitted from human to human, preventive measures are focused on protection from infected mosquitoes.
