Chikungunya cases increase to 560 in Delhi

Chikungunya, one of the life threatening diseases is increasing in Delhi. The current number of cases in Delhi shot up to 560 according to a municipal report as of Tuesday. Many hospitals are seeing an increase in number of patients of this vector-borne disease.

The report on this disease has been compiled by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on behalf of all civic bodies and found 432 cases as of August 27.

Till August 20, only 20 chikungunya cases were diagnosed in the national capital according to SDMC. However, there have been 250 cases reported in just the Safdarjung Hospital.

According to doctors, there could be further increases in the number of cases. Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital A K Rai said that the city is witnessing a spike in the number of cases. The AIIMS laboratories which get blood samples from Delhi and other parts of the country, had 362 samples tested positive for chikungunya between July and August 20.

Chikungunya is caused by a virus. Its symptoms are like dengue with high-grade fever, severe joint pains, muscle pains, headache and joint swelling.

The disease also causes rashes, however it is not as risky as dengue which can cause bleeding due to abrupt fall in platelet count.

IMA President-Elect Dr K K Aggarwal warned about the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) which causes CHIKV-associated encephalitis. This disease has a high chance in occurring in children younger than 1 and adults older than 65.

This sudden spike in chikungunya cases in Delhi and parts of north India comes 10 years after a big outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases. There were 13 lakh suspected chikungunya fever cases in 2006. This year, there has been 28,990 suspected cases as of July.

Several health experts say that there could be a possible evolution in the virus due to changes in humidity.

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