NEW DELHI
The number of dengue cases that were marked “untraced after investigation” rose to 50, as the Capital recorded two new cases of dengue over the past week (till April 23), according to a civic report released on Monday. The season’s total caseload now stands at 76, of which more than half of the cases remain untraced.
Cases in which an infected patient is identified but the details and address of the patient are not properly registered are marked “untraced after investigation”. To contain an infection, such as dengue, it is important for agencies such as municipalities to track patient details in order to trace the source of infection.
The caseload for each month of this year — from January to April — has been registered in double digits. Whereas over the previous five years, from 2017 to 2021, for the same four month period, caseload never crossed the single-digit mark, with the exception of April 2021, when 10 cases were registered.
Medical experts have said that the jump in the cases of dengue this year, along with the number of untraced cases, could be seen as an indication of a surge in casese in the Capital this year.
Last year, the city witnessed its worst dengue outbreak since 2015, recording a total of 9,613 cases and 23 deaths. Over 2,900 cases were marked “untraced after investigation”.
According to the civic report released on Monday, for which the data is provided by the Delhi government, all the cases marked untraced were registered by the three civic bodies - North (14), South (20), and East (16). Other agencies such as New Delhi Municipal Council did not report a single untraced case.
“We have communicated the issue to the Delhi government, regarding cases that remain untraced after investigation. While the government says it has taken steps to address this issue, it does not reflect in the reports,” said a senior civic official.
