There has been a recent spike in the number of dengue, swine flu and chikungunya cases in Delhi, said doctors. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) report said that the region reported 401 new infections between September 22 to 28. Delhi recorded 1,052 dengue cases till September 28, as per the report, with the South Delhi zone recording the highest number of cases, followed by the Najafgarh zone.
Speaking to IANS, Dr Sharang Sachdeva, Senior Consultant, and Head of Emergency at Aakash Healthcare said, “Dengue and swine flu cases have been steadily rising over the past few weeks. Presently, we are witnessing around 100 patients daily presenting with symptoms such as fever, body aches, and fatigue.” He added, “Of these, 20-25 per cent are diagnosed with dengue, while 10-15 per cent are diagnosed with swine flu, indicating a concerning overlap of multiple infections during this period.
” One dengue-related death has been reported this year so far with a 54-year-old patient succumbing to the disease at Lok Kalyan Hospital. Dr Harshal R Salve, Additional professor, Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi told IANS, “The season is favourable for breeding of mosquitoes hence there might be few spikes in vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya.” Meanwhile, the MCD data also shows a marked increase in both malaria (67) and chikungunya (13) cases in the September 22-28 period.
About 430 malaria cases have been recorded until September 28 this year.