The monsoon in India has extended beyond normal, causing major flood-like situations and water-logging issues. Many parts of India are already facing major health issues due to the incessant rains, which has brought in mosquitoes and other parasites along. These mosquitoes have become the vectors in spreading diseases like dengue, malaria, chikungunya and zika.
The extended monsoon has given major concerns to authorities in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The health department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) now fears that mosquito breeding is likely to go up, resulting in fresh cases of vector-borne diseases, especially dengue, The Times of India reported. Last month, in September, the city has recorded 811 cases of indoor patients of dengue, as compared to 624 cases of malaria during the same period. In addition, the AMC has also recorded 37 cases of malaria falciparum.
Last year, in September 2018, AMC recorded 899 cases of dengue, which rose to 1,234 in October 2018. By far, this year, at least six children have succumbed to the deadly dengue virus, as revealed in a survey by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). It has also reported that Aedes aegypti mosquito, the prime transmitter of deadly viruses like Zika, dengue and chikungunya, is present in an alarming density per room in the city.
With the extended monsoon, the Health officials at AMC now suspect that there could be spurt in dengue cases this October as well. “Look at the weather. I have never witnessed regular rains during Navratri in my lifetime. Moreover, there are no inidication that rains would stop soon. There would be a spurt in dengue cases,” Bhavin Solanki, in-charge medical officer of health in AMC, told TOI.
While there have been 811 cases of dengue where the patients are hospitalized, the count does not include dengue cases where patients are not hospitalised. Sources in private pathology labouratories say that of the blood sample tested for dengue, a majority of them are positive.
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