Second dengue death in Delhi, cases rise to 580

New Delhi  :  Delhi reported its second confirmed dengue death with a one-year-old baby girl succumbing to the vector-borne disease even as the number of cases jumped to 580 in the city state alone, an official said.

“Chanchal, daughter of Premlal, died of dengue at the Lok Nayak Hospital in south Delhi,” spokesperson for North and East Delhi Municipal Corporation Yogendra Singh Mann told IANS.

This is the second confirmed dengue death in the capital this season.

The epidemic claimed its first victim Sep 29 when nine-year-old Tabassum Khan, resident of Sangam Vihar in south Delhi, died at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).

The city also reported 34 more positive cases of dengue Friday alone, taking the total number to 585. However, five patients were residents of neighbouring states.

“Out of the 585, two cases are from Uttar Pradesh and three from Haryana,” Mann said.

The figure has seen a rise in this period this year as against 471 cases last year. However, the number of casualties are half of last year’s four.

Noting that maximum cases of dengue are generally reported in October as the weather is conducive for breeding of the vector, the Aedes mosquito, civic agency officials said the three municipal corporations have intensified measures to prevent the spread of the disease

Fogging operations were on in various areas, they said.

Upscale south Delhi has the maximum number of dengue cases reported so far this season, according to official figures.

Out of 580 people afflicted, 219 were found down with the deadly disease in the area of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

Dengue fever is a communicable disease, and its symptoms include high fever for four to five days, usually accompanied by severe headache, pain in the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rashes. After the fever goes away, the blood platelet count starts dipping, which is the most dangerous phase of the disease.