Five die of dengue in Delhi, toll reaches 45

NEW DELHI: Five persons died due to dengue in the capital taking the toll to 45 even as 89 fresh cases were registered in various hospitals as the viral disease showed no signs of abating.

Riaz (65), a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, and Yashpal (32) hailing from Palam in south-west Delhi, died late Wednesday night at AIIMS, where 180 people have been admitted for treatment of dengue and related illnesses.

Ramnath Kumar (25) of Kotla Mubarakpur, Jitender Kumar (25) of New Kondli and Hanuman Singh (70) of Mainpuri, UP died within hours of being brought to AIIMS casualty in a critical condition, Medical Superintendent D K Sharma said.

The number of dengue cases reported in Delhi has been hovering around the 90-mark daily for the past one week despite the efforts being made to control the disease.

Meanwhile, light rainfall in Delhi and adjoining areas led to a drop in temperature, raising hopes for a natural solution to rid the city of the deadly Aedes Aegypeti mosquitoes that act as vector for the disease.

The mosquito thrives in hot and humid conditions, experts said. However, the temperature needs to drop to 16 degree C at which the mosquito does not survive, they said.

Dengue cases continued to rise in the capital, where 89 patients were admitted to various hospitals in the last 24 hours ending 11:00 am, Delhi Health Secretary D S Negi said.

Altogether 1,820 dengue cases have been reported in Delhi till now, out of which 1,144 were from the capital and 976 from other states, he said.

In AIIMS, 53 patients were admitted to the hospital and nearly 150 people with suspected dengue have been kept under observation in various wards.