Over a dozen dengue cases confirmed in Gurgaon

At least 13 cases of dengue have been confirmed in the city during last week, taking the total number of such cases to over sixty, an official said. The number of suspected cases is in several hundreds.

Experts say November is an unusual time for outbreak of this viral disease.

"Dengue usually spreads during the month of August and September but this year it is spreading in November as there was less rains during the monsoon season and the maximum temperature remained above the normal," a senior doctor at a multi-specialty private hospital here told IANS.

Pushpa Bishnoi, Gurgaon civil surgeon, confirmed that the number of dengue patients was increasing but added that it was much less than in comparison to the last two years.

She said a separate dengue ward has been set up in the civil hospital but no dengue patient is admitted there as all patients are under treatment in private hospitals.

The number of dengue patients in new Gurgaon area (HUDA sectors and areas developed by private builders) is much more as compared to the old city.

"The smoke of fire crackers during the Diwali festival helps in killing mosquitoes but smokeless Diwali due to 'say no to crackers' allows mosquitoes to breed. Health department official usually think that mosquitoes will be killed in Diwali smoke and sometime concerned officers remain negligent," a doctor who did not wish to named told IANS.

As a result, high-tech larva checking system (method to control mosquitoe breeding), did not show the desired results, he said.

The malaria department has now appointed a 20-member team to implement the larva checking system.

There were 375 patients of dengue in the district during 2013 and 469 during 2012. Three people died due to dengue last year.

Out of over 60 cases of dengue this year, 51 are from Gurgaon; the rest have been referred to Gurgaon from outside the city.