40 pc jump in dengue cases in a week in Delhi; total 3,109

At least 894 fresh cases of dengue had been reported in the city over the last week, taking the number of the people affected by the vector-borne disease this season to 3,109, according to a municipal report released today.
The numbers of malaria and chikungunya cases recorded in the city till September 23 stood at 954 and 533 respectively, the report said.
The number of dengue cases reported till September 16 was 2,215, marking a rise of over 40 per cent in a week.
Of the 3,109 dengue cases, 1,465 affected people were residents of Delhi, while the rest were from other states. Of the 1,465 cases of the Delhi residents, 761 were reported this month.

Dengue has claimed one life in the city during the current season of vector-borne diseases so far.
The cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between mid-July and November-end. The cases of all the three vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier this time. Doctors had attributed this to an early arrival of the monsoon.

Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water. The anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.
According to the report, breeding of mosquitoes has been reported from 1,66,586 households in Delhi. All the three municipal corporations have stepped up the awareness drives. They are distributing pamphlets and plying vehicles with loudspeakers issuing dos and don'ts for the prevention of these diseases.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the city has banned the over-the-counter sale of nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs such as Aspirin and Brufen as their use may "pose a threat" to the dengue and chikungunya patients.
At least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported last year from various city hospitals, including nine at the AIIMS, though the official figure of the civic bodies stood at 10.
Seventeen deaths, suspected to be due to malaria, were also reported by the civic bodies last year.
At least 15 fatalities were reported last year from various city hospitals due to complications triggered by chikungunya, though the civic bodies had kept the death tally at zero.

In one of the worst outbreaks, a total of 12,221 chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016, of which 9,749 were confirmed.