The Capital recorded eight cases of dengue over the past week (till June 11), taking this season’s caseload to 126, according to a report released by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Monday.
The uptick in cases remains untraced after investigation. The cases have climbed up to 79, more than half of the cases recorded this season.
In each of the months this year, the caseload has been recorded in double digits – January (23) , February (16), March (22), April (20) , May (30) and June (15*); which shows a two-fold increase when compared to the caseload registered in the six-month period (till June 11) during previous years, from 2017-2021.
For instance, in 2020 and 2021, the total caseload for the six-month period stood at 19 and 31, while the number for the same period, in 2022, stands at 126.
When asked about the overall increase in cases, a senior MCD official said, “It is a simple case of better surveillance in the reporting of cases. Last season, reporting of cases was not as robust until the disease was made notifiable under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Only after did the backlog cases come to light because case reporting became mandatory,” said the senior MCD official.
In 2021, the city witnessed a massive outbreak in dengue cases — the worst since 2015 – after it recorded 9,613 cases and 23 deaths, while slightly over 2,900 cases remained untraced after investigation.
In the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, the city recorded 4,726, 2,798, 2,036 and 1,072 cases, respectively
Apart from this, the Capital has also recorded 21 cases of malaria this season (til June 11).
