Dengue cases hit 7,606 in Delhi

Delhi has this year registered 7,606 dengue cases till October 3 -- the highest in five years -- and 25 people have died due to the viral disease, municipal authorities said on Monday.

However, the unofficial toll furnished by the hospitals has crossed 80, with the latest death of a 50-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday evening.

The new figures released by the three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCD) also said that areas under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation saw the highest number of cases with 1,960, followed by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation with 1,923, and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation with 1,011 cases.

During last week, Delhi witnessed 1,624 dengue cases.

Also, as per the municipal corporation, 1,036 people diagnosed with the disease came from outside Delhi.

The last time the number of dengue cases crossed the 5,000-mark was in 2010, when the figure stood at 6,259 till this corresponding period.

The figures in the last four years have been comparatively less with 1,131 cases in 2011, 2,093 in 2012, 5,574 in 2013 and 995 in 2014.

Following the rising trend in the number of dengue cases in the capital, the Delhi government recently bought 400 new beds to accommodate dengue patients in its hospitals.

Doctors in government hospitals have also started providing treatment to patients without waiting for dengue reports so as to keep a check on the rising number of cases.