1,337 fresh cases of dengue in 5 days in Delhi; total crosses 12,000-mark

New Delhi: With over 1,300 fresh dengue cases reported in the past five days, the total number of people down with the vector-borne fever in the city this year has mounted to a threatening 12,020.

The civic administration updated its official death toll to 32, according to a municipal report on the vector-borne disease released today. However, unofficially the number of dengue victims has crossed 40.

September alone has seen 6,775 cases, also the highest in the last six years. Incidentally, no cases had been reported in the first three days of this month. Out of the total cases, south Delhi recorded the highest at 2,578, north Delhi at 2,561 while east Delhi posted the lowest with 1502 cases. Of all civic zones in the city, Najafgarh Zone of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has recorded the highest number with 832 cases. And, 1,829 people diagnosed positive for the deadly disease came from outside of Delhi.

Standing at over 12,000, dengue outbreak this year has become the worst outbreak since 1996. That year, 10,252 casesand 423 deaths were reported.

The figure for the total number of cases had crossed the 1996-mark on October 10 only with 10,683 people down with the deadly virus.

In 2010, as many as 6,259 total cases were recorded and only eight deaths were officials reported throughout the year.

995 cases were registered in entire 2014 while in 2013 it stood at 5574.

Over 2,000 cases were recorded in 2012 while 2011 saw 1,131 cases.

Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.

Till October 10, the number of houses found positive for mosquito breeding stands at 2,16,870 while number of prosecution launched in the same period is 20,670, according to the SDMC, which compiles the report on behalf of all civic bodies.