Dengue fever returns to Delhi, one dead

NEW DELHI: Dengue fever has returned to the city as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Saturday reported one death due to the infection and six new cases in the past one month, taking the total count of people affected by the virus this year to 11.

A resident of Shivam Enclave in Shahdara South passed away at the Ganga Ram hospital on July 9. It was notified to us on 23rd July, MCD's Health Committee Chairman V K Monga said.

"People should be conscious of their surroundings and check mosquito breeding. While cleaning their coolers, they should swipe the walls well so that no egg stays back in the cooler and fertilises," Monga said.

Surprisingly, the first case of dengue fever was reported on March 3, after a doctor from AIIMS tested positive for the vector-borne disease here. Last year the first dengue case was reported in June which continued till mid-December.

Till June 23, a total of five people were already affected by Dengue fever.

Last year, a total of 6,229 dengue cases had been reported from the city out of which eight patients had died. Eight fresh cases of dengue were reported in the national capital in December 2010 despite the onset of winter, leaving medical experts and health officials worried as mosquito breeding normally subsides by mid-November.