Punjab sees 10K dengue cases, 38 deaths in a month

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24

In the past 30 days, between September 24 and October 23, the state has reported over 10,000 dengue cases and 38 deaths, which according to health officials is the worst-ever spike.

So far, around 12,500 cases have been reported in the state. State government departments seem to have failed in taking timely action to prevent the outbreak. Both the departments — local bodies in urban and rural development and panchayats — that are mainly responsible for curtailing the outbreak, were found issuing instructions for the purchase of insecticides at a time when the cases had already started hitting the peak.

The state reported around 4,000 cases in just last one week. According to health officials, the figures this year could be the worst-ever in terms of the number of cases and fatalities. So far, 2017 has seen maximum infections with over 15,000 cases.

The current dengue spike is likely to continue till mid-November, after which with dip in night temperatures, mosquito population falls and the cases would decline.

Some districts are hit harder than others. There are four districts that have reported more than 1,200 cases. SAS Nagar tops the chart with 1,981 cases and 20 deaths, followed by Bathinda (1,760 cases and one death), Amritsar (1,311 cases) and Hoshiarpur (1,271 cases) and Pathankot district (1,215 cases).

According to experts, the situation could worsen post-weekend rain showers as it will lead to accumulation of water and thus add to mosquito-breeding sites. Earlier, prolonged monsoon had led to soaring cases and fatalities.

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