Civic bodies state 79 chikungunya cases were reported this year while last year's figure at the same time was zero
The recent erratic weather has led to a spike in the number of dengue and chikungunya cases in the Capital. While not even a single case of chikungunya was reported in the city by this time last year, as many as 79 cases have already been reported till now. Similarly, 24 cases of dengue have been reported so far this year. The number was seven in 2016.
The figures, mentioned in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) report, have, however, failed to convince the medical experts. Contrary to the report's findings regarding high incidence of vector-borne diseases, doctors are of the opinion that faulty testing is leading to erroneous diagnosis.
"I have not seen a single case of chikungunya in the last one month. Even dengue cases are not coming. It is very important to ensure that people are getting correct tests done," said Dr Sumanjeet Chatterjee, Department of Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo hospital.
Dr SP Byotra, Senior Consultant at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, said: "This is strange. No case of dengue and chikungunya has come to me, so far. People going for random blood tests might be testing positive for the disease. Clinical training should be given to the general public, so that they don't go for these test randomly."
Chikungunya is generally considered a non-fatal disease. It is caused by the chikungunya virus, which has one serotype. There are three genotypes of this serotype -- Asian, West African, and East Central South African.
The season for vector-borne diseases starts from mid-July and generally lasts till November-end. At least 15 fatalities were reported in various city hospitals last year, due to the complications triggered by chikungunya, but the civic bodies, kept the death tally at zero.
Similarly, at least 21 deaths due to dengue were reported at various hospitals, including nine at AIIMS, though the SDMC's official tally stood at 10.
Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report, had pulled up the civic bodies for not taking effective measures at the time of outbreak of these diseases despite having adequate funds.
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