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At least 1,158 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first 10 days of September, the month in which the vector-borne disease begins to peak.
Three hundred and eight seven cases were reported this month, marking a rise of over 50 per cent from the previous count, according to a municipal report released on Monday.
Over 770 cases were reported till September 3 this season. Out of the total number of cases, August alone has accounted for 652.
At least nine deaths due to dengue have been reported this year in the national capital, though the South Delhi Municipal Corporation which compiles the report on vector-borne diseases on behalf of all civic bodies here, has maintained the death tally at four.
The last dengue fatality reported was of Iram Khan, 25, a native of Meerut, who lived in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi, and succumbed to dengue on August 31 at Apollo Hospital.
The other three deaths reported by SDMC include Nazish, 38, sister-in-law of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who had died of dengue shock syndrome at Apollo Hospital on August 12.
Muskan, 12, a resident of Shaheen Bagh, had died on July 29, while Deepak, 19, from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to the disease on July 27, both at Safdarjung Hospital.
Besides, five other fatalities have been reported by different hospitals in the city, which have not been acknowledged yet by the SDMC.
Two-and-a-half-year-old girl Usra had succumbed to dengue at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on September 1, while Noma, 3, died at Apollo Hospital on August 28.
Asad Iqbal, 18, a native of Bihar, had succumbed to the deadly disease on August 28 at Apollo Hospital.
Safdarjung Hospital had recently reported another dengue death that took place late July.
This year, dengue cases have been reported rather early. The vector-borne disease had claimed its first victim on July 21 when a girl from Jafrabad in northeast Delhi died at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital.
SDMC Medical Health Officer P K Hazarika said, “September-October is the peak season for dengue and the cases are likely to rise faster now. People must take all precautions and prevent breeding of mosquitoes in and outside of their homes.”
Last year, the city saw a staggering 15,867 dengue cases -- the worst in 20 years --with the disease claiming 60 lives, as per municipal reports. In 2015, August and September had seen 778 and 6,775 cases respectively while October had recorded a staggering 7,283 cases.
In 2015, only six cases were reported in June, while 36 were registered in July.
In 1996, a severe outbreak of dengue had occurred in Delhi when about 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported.
According to the report, south Delhi has reported 255 dengue cases till September 10, the highest among all the regions in the city.
Central Zone of South Delhi Municipal Corporation has recorded 100 cases, the highest among its four zones. Najafgarh, West and and South Zones reported 70, 43 and 42 cases respectively.
North Corporation and East Corporation have recorded 105 and 70 cases respectively.
This year cases have been reported early. A total of 91 cases were reported in July, six cases were recorded in May, while June witnessed 15 cases.
In NDMC area, breeding of mosquitoes was found in 43,565 houses, in SDMC area in 62,423 houses and 15,536 in EDMC area. The number of prosecution launched in these areas were 3612, 5460 and 1436 respectively.
Image: A municipal worker fumigates a residential area as the vector-borne disease begins to peak. Photograph: Babu/Reuters