Dengue death toll reaches six in Delhi

Chairman, health committee, Dr VK Monga said that the total count of dengue cases in the city had gone up to 1,108. "The total toll due to dengue haemorrhagic fever has gone up to six this year. Prateek, who was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on November 17 and died the same day, too has been diagnosed with dengue fever," Monga said.u00a0

"This is alarming as dengue deaths are happening in spite of changes in the weather condition. The epistemology of dengue is changing and people should check their premises for mosquito breeding," he said. Another vector-borne disease, chikungunya, too continues to be reported from different hospitals in Delhi. The total number of chikungunya cases has gone up to 100, he said.u00a0

On Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Monga said, "Results of the eighty-one blood samples collected from pigs to test for presence of Japanese Encephalitis virus will be available in a day or two." Japanese Encephalitis, common in the neighbouring states, surfaced for the first time in the city after four people tested positive in October this year.u00a0

The Delhi government had ordered for screening of pigs to detect the presence of JE virus, as these animals were the amplifying hosts for the disease. The tests are being conducted at the National Research Centre for Equines at Hisar in Haryana.