Authorities in New Delhi have reported a sharp rise in dengue cases, with 65 cases reported in the Indian capital in the three weeks of July, figures were announced at a press conference on Sunday.
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According to doctors, 40 cases of this disease were noted in Delhi in June, and 23 in May. At the same time, 187 cases have been recorded in the Indian capital since the beginning of the year – this is the highest figure since 2018. Due to the spread of the disease, the Delhi government has commissioned campaigns to raise awareness of dengue fever in schools and among citizens, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Sunday.
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“Hospitals will be prepared for dengue cases. I also discussed this with the commissioner of the Delhi Municipal Corporation today,” Bharadwaj said, noting that genome sequencing of 20 patients in Delhi showed that 19 of them were carriers of the second serotype of the virus, DENV-2.
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“The second type is a severe strain, it poses a risk to patients. Presumably, only one strain is widely distributed, but we all need to be careful,” the minister said.
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The second of four serotypes of the virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever. Mortality from this type of virus is low, according to health experts, but re-infection with dengue can be life-threatening. Doctors attribute the increase in the number of cases of dengue in Delhi to heavy rains in July, which caused flooding of several areas of the capital.
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Dengue fever is a dangerous disease of transmissible viral etiology, common in regions with a subtropical and tropical climate. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main vectors for dengue fever. In the absence of a carrier, a sick person does not pose an epidemiological danger. Symptoms of the disease are high fever, nausea, rash, headaches and lumbar pain.
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The hemorrhagic variant of fever is accompanied by severe internal bleeding caused by the collapse of blood vessels. According to the WHO, the death rate from a severe form of the disease is 2.5% and without appropriate treatment can reach 20%.
