158 dengue cases in Delhi so far this year

New Delhi: As many as 158 dengue cases have been reported in the national capital so far this year, including at least 15 cases in July, a civic body report said on Monday.

According to the report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the city recorded 23 dengue cases in January, 16 in February, 22 in March, 20 in April, 30 in May and 32 in June, it said. It said that in July, 15 cases were reported till the 9th. Five fresh cases of dengue have been report in last one week. The total count of dengue cases reported in the national capital this year stood at 158 till July 16 while it was 153 till July 9. No death due to the disease has been reported so far, the MCD report said. The count of dengue cases reported in Delhi between January 1 and July 16 last year was 40.

The corresponding figure was 28 in 2020, 32 in 2019, 43 in 2018 and 98 in 2017, the report said. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, sometimes stretching till mid-December. Civic officials said dengue cases were being recorded earlier this year due to a a weather congenial for mosquito breeding. Last year, 9,613 dengue cases were recorded in the national capital, the highest since 2015, along with 23 deaths, the maximum since 2016. In 2016, 10 deaths were also reported. Delhi had recorded two deaths due to dengue in 2019, four in 2018 and 10 in 2017.

According to official data, 4,431 dengue cases were recorded in Delhi in 2016, 4,726 in 2017, 2,798 in 2018, 2,036 in 2019, and 1,072 in 2020. In 2015, the city had witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue with the number of cases crossing 10,600 in October alone. It was Delhi's worst dengue outbreak since 1996. Delhi also has reported 29 cases of malaria and eight cases of chikungunya so far this year, the report said.