Pune: In just nine months of 2024, Maharashtra recorded as many as 3,259 cases of chikungunya , a more than four-fold increase from the 790 patients it logged during the same period last year, health department data showed on Wednesday. The districts with the most cases are Kolhapur (219), Pune (193), Amravati (156) and Akola (129). Among key municipal areas, the highest cases have been from Nagpur city (741), Mumbai (338), Pune city (227) and Kolhapur (164).
The intense chikungunya spread this year has also drawn the attention of central agencies. For instance, the health ministry this week told Pune Municipal Corporation to compile information of all patients. The PMC in turn invited doctors from all key private hospitals on Thursday for a training meeting aimed to create awareness and improve reporting of cases.
Besides chikungunya, there have been spikes in dengue and malaria cases too. At least 14,300 cases of malaria have been reported in the state till Sept this year, compared to the 10,000 it had in 2023. As for dengue, Maharashtra logged 12,200 cases till Sept this year.
It had 10,600 during the same period last year. "But it's chikungunya that has shown a four-fold increase from last year, which is indeed surprising," said Dr Radhakishan Pawar, joint director of state health services for malaria, filaria and waterborne diseases. "We have also heard from doctors that the intensity of chikungunya complications is much higher this year compared to the previous few year.