New Delhi:
Over 1,800 fresh dengue cases have been reported in the last five days, taking the total number of people affected with the vector-borne fever in Delhi this year to 9,438.
As per a municipal report on the vector-borne disease released today, the civic administration has also updated its dengue death toll to 30, reporting five more deaths.
Unofficially, however, the casualty count due to the disease has neared 40.
"In the last five days, at least 1,832 cases have been reported," a senior civic official said.
The outbreak this year has become the worst in the last six years, having surpassed the 2010 figure for the total number of cases (6,259) by the end of the last month.
Out of the total number of cases reported till today, September alone has seen 6,775 cases, also the highest in the last six years.
Incidentally, no cases were reported in the first three days of this month.
Till October 5, at least 7,606 cases and 25 official deaths due to dengue were reported. On October 1, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which compiles the report on behalf of all civic bodies, had updated the official death toll to 25.
In 2010, besides over 6,200 total cases, only eight deaths were officially reported throughout the year.
Till October 3, 120 cases were registered in 2014 while in 2013 it stood at 2,557. Nearly 100 cases were recorded in 2012 while 2011 saw 283 cases in the same period.
Out of the total cases this year, north Delhi recorded the highest at 2,164, south Delhi at 2,246 while east Delhi posted the lowest with 1,228 cases. Of all civic zones in the city, Najafgarh Zone of SDMC has recorded the highest number with 756 cases.
1,363 people diagnosed with the disease came from outside of Delhi.
Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.
Till October 3, the number of houses found positive for mosquito breeding stands at 2,09,593 while number of prosecution launched in the same period is 19,819.