Telangana tops dengue caseload charts this year

HYDERABAD: Telangana recorded the highest number of dengue cases this year, clocking as many as 13,091 cases until October 31, which is over four times the national average of 3,068 cases, as per the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control.

However, the consolation for the state was that it recorded zero dengue deaths.

After Telangana, Bihar recorded the highest number of cases, at 9,374, till October. Given the significant difference in numbers, Telangana is likely to finish the year as the state with the most cases.

This is the highest caseload since 2019, when 13,331 cases were recorded, and a sharp spike from the 7,135 cases recorded in 2021.

Doctors said that the number of cases would be much higher as many cases would have gone undetected and unreliable dengue tests also would have shown false negatives.

A doctor with a private hospital in the city attributed the high case count to the city’s climate, which is suitable for mosquitoes and viruses. It was further compounded due to a long monsoon and sanitation problems this year, they said.

The state health department, in July, had flagged the spike in dengue cases and health minister T. Harish Rao had initiated the ’10 minutes at 10 am on Sunday’ programme to remove garbage and remove stagnant water around houses.

However, after the drive was launched, there were no further awareness campaigns or follow-ups.

The GHMC also undertook measures, such as house-to-house surveys and anti-larval operations, but these also lasted only for a short period.

An official from the health department admitted that this year, the state had seen a lot of dengue cases, especially Hyderabad and Karimnagar districts. He added that the detection of such cases was also high in Telangana, which might not be the case in other states. Hence, the statistics might not reflect the actual figures in some states.

5 states with the highest dengue cases in 2022 until October 31:

State | No. of cases

Telangana 13,091

Bihar 9,374

Rajasthan 9,283

Karnataka 7,317

Uttar Pradesh 6,758

Total no. of cases in India until October 31: 1,10,473