Dengue cases have almost doubled in a fortnight in Kolkata and the numbers could rise further after Puja, according to officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
A senior KMC official said that 1,525 cases of dengue have been reported from Kolkata between January and September 18.
Deputy mayor Atin Ghosh had said earlier while releasing a report on the most vulnerable wards till September 4 that “800 plus” dengue cases were reported in Kolkata municipal area till then.
Ghosh did not specify the number but only said “800 plus” had been reported.
Later on September 15, Ghosh told a meeting of all councillors that about 900 dengue cases had been reported till then.
The jump shows that the threat from dengue is far from over.
In a meeting with private hospitals recently, senior officials of the state health department said that the current pace of dengue infections was likely to continue till November.
Officials of the KMC said they fear that dengue infections would rise further after the Durga Puja.
As a large number of people will be out on the streets, the chances of the spread of the infection were high.
Mosquitoes will bite an already infected person and pass on the infection to another person by biting.
Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Saturday that the status of dengue infections in Kolkata was still a matter of concern.
“Dengue is still a matter of concern,” Hakim said after the weekly phone-in programme Talk to Mayor.
“One thousand five hundred and twenty-five dengue cases have been reported between January and September 18 in Kolkata,” said a senior KMC official.
“We had anticipated a sharp rise in dengue infections as a large number of people will be outdoors this year,” said the official.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary transmitter of the dengue virus. The website of the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that “mosquitoes can become infected from people who are viremic with DENV”.
DENV is the acronym for dengue virus.
“The virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes,” the WHO website adds.
A KMC official said that when many people assemble in a place, there is always a risk of the infection spreading.
“In a gathering of people, there could be someone who is carrying the infection. A mosquito will bite the person and pick up the virus. This mosquito can then bite another person and infect the new person,” said a KMC doctor.
“Some of the people coming to the city during Durga Puja could be carriers of the virus. The infection can spread to others from the already infected person,” said the doctor.
The best way to prevent the spread is by controlling the source or by not allowing the birth of mosquitoes. Not
allowing water to remain stagnant in any place for seven days or more is essential in preventing the birth of mosquitoes.
