Dengue Cases Soar Across India; Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Dehradun At the Forefront

Major cities like Delhi, Dehradun, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, in particular, are currently grappling with the spike in dengue and other viral fevers characteristically associated with the season.

In addition to the recent rains, Delhi floods in July are said to have taken the city’s dengue tally to a six-year high in 2023 so far, as per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

While MCD is yet to release a complete case count from August, the Government is set to launch its flagship ‘10 Hafte-10 Baje-10 Minute’ campaign to curb dengue spread, which usually peaks in September.

In the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, more than 200 dengue cases have been confirmed in Kanpur, while the state capital Lucknow has clocked 276 cases till September.

Meanwhile, the hilly state of Uttarakhand has clocked over 1182 cases September 11, with more than 50% of infections (682 cases) seen in Dehradun alone.

But the situation is extremely dire in Karnataka, which has logged around 7,000 infections until September 8. Of these nearly 5,000 cases are from Bengaluru alone. Not only are these numbers highly unusual, having doubled in just one year, but have also triggered an acute shortage of platelets in the state capital.

The Tamil Nadu Health Department also sprang into action following the tragic death of a four-year-old from dengue in Chennai. The state health department has begun campaigns to control vector-borne diseases in preparation for the Northeast Monsoon season, which brings most of the rainfall to Tamil Nadu.

Alarm bells are going off in Hyderabad, with the Telangana capital witnessing a 10-fold jump in dengue cases in the last month from 164 in July to 1,171 in August — accounting for more than half of all infections seen in the state.

Maharashtra seems to be facing the same problem, with a massive number of dengue cases in the state being accounted for by Mumbai.

While the situation seems well under control, intermittent rains in Mumbai have sparked a 46% spike in Dengue cases in August compared to July. The state capital has clocked 999 dengue infections, while the entire state has logged 2,701 cases in August.

While experts say the surge is seasonal, such numbers are also ‘unusual’ for many areas.

Dengue is largely seen in urban areas due to the lack of sound city infrastructure to deal with water stagnation on roads and at construction sites, among other places, is a major culprit behind the widespread dengue surge.

With more rainfall activity on the cards over most of the country, these numbers are expected to rise further. However, concerned departments have been taking immediate as well as long-term measures to monitor and curb the mosquito menace, besides launching campaigns to spread awareness among the general public.

(With inputs from TOI and IANS)

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