Gurgaon: Spurt in dengue cases again, 20 in 9 days

After an interim calm, cases of vector-borne diseases are on the rise again. As many as 20 cases of dengue and 23 cases of chikungunya were reported in the city in the last nine days.

The total number of dengue and chikungunya cases have gone up to 95 and 48. No deaths related to the diseases have been reported so far.

Last month, hospitals were reporting a 10%-15% drop in cases.

The latest dengue cases were reported from areas near Golf Course Road, Golf Course Extension Road and parts of Old Gurgaon.

Thirty five cases of dengue and 26 cases of chikungunya were confirmed in people who are not residents of Gurgaon.

Doctor’s attributed the rise in cases to weather favourable for mosquito breeding.

“Any weather change is conducive and can trigger mosquito breeding. Hence, there has been a sudden increase in the number of patients. Any estimate of the diseases’ timeline cannot be ascertained,” Dr Joy Chakraborty, consulting physician, Kalyani Hospital, said.

Dr Rajesh Kumar, senior consultant, internal medicine, Paras Hospital said cases will see a significant dip after Diwali. Until then, people have to ensure that they seek proper medical care if symptoms appear.

Doctors expect the threat of mosquito-borne diseases to subside when the temperature falls below 24 degrees Celsius when mosquito breeding declines.

Blood samples of 14 patients suspected to have contracted the diseases are also being tested at civil hospital. They had symptoms such as high fever, body rashes, low platelet count and appetite loss, the health department said.

Seeing the high number of cases, the district health department had revised consultation timings of primary health centres (PHCs) and added an additional hour.

Incapable of accommodating the extra load, some patients at the civil hospital are being referred to other government hospitals across NCR.