153 dengue cases reported in Delhi so far, 10 in July: Civic report

Over 150 dengue cases have been reported in the national capital so far this year, including at least 10 cases in July, a civic report said on Monday. Till July 2, the city had logged 143 cases of the disease. Delhi recorded 23 dengue cases in January, 16 in February, 22 in March, 20 in April, 30 in May and 32 in June, it said, adding that 10 cases were reported till July 9.

The total count of dengue cases reported in the national capital this year stood at 153 till July 9. No death due to the disease has been reported so far, according to the report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The count of dengue cases reported in Delhi between January 1 and July 9 last year was 38. The corresponding figure was 22 in 2020, 27 in 2019, 36 in 2018 and 77 in 2017, the report said.

Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.

Civic officials said dengue cases were being recorded earlier this year due to a congenial weather for mosquito breeding. Last year, 9,613 dengue cases were recorded in the national capital, the highest since 2015, along with 23 deaths, the highest since 2016.

In 2016, 10 deaths due to the disease were reported in the city.

Delhi had recorded two deaths due to dengue in 2019, four in 2018 and 10 in 2017.

According to official data, 4,431 dengue cases were recorded in Delhi in 2016, 4,726 in 2017, 2,798 in 2018, 2,036 in 2019, and 1,072 in 2020.

In 2015, the city had witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue with the number of cases crossing 10,600 in October alone. It was Delhi’s worst dengue outbreak since 1996.

Delhi also has reported 28 cases of malaria and eight cases of chikungunya so far this year, the report said.