277 dengue cases in 2nd week of November; total crosses 15,500

New Delhi: The dengue outbreak seems to have plateaued in the second week of November with about 280 cases of the disease reported in the national capital, which was this year faced with its worst outbreak of the vector-borne fever since 1996.

The civic administration maintained its official dengue death toll at 38 in a report released today by SDMC, which compiles the data on behalf of all the civic bodies in the city. Unofficially, however, the number of dengue deaths reported in Delhi was 43.

The total number of dengue cases reported this year in Delhi stands at over 15,500 even as the first week of this month saw 365 cases. A total of 277 cases were reported in the second week of November.

While 7,283 cases were reported in October, the maximum for all the months this year, the vector-borne disease is supposed to hit a plateau in November.

At 15,531 cases, the dengue outbreak this year was the worst in the city since 1996, when 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported.

The total number of cases this year had crossed the 1996- mark on October 10, by when 10,683 people had come down with the deadly virus.

Of the total number of cases reported till November 14, south Delhi recorded the maximum with 3,148 cases followed by north Delhi with 2,903 cases. East Delhi recorded the lowest incidence of dengue with 1,737 cases.

In 2010, as many as 6,259 cases were recorded while only eight deaths were officially reported. In 2014, a total of 995 cases were reported while the figure for 2013 stood at 5,574. Over 2,000 cases were recorded in 2012 while 2011 saw 1,131 cases.

This year, among the civic zones in the city, Najafgarh Zone under South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) recorded the highest number at 972 dengue cases. Also, 2,634 people diagnosed with the deadly disease came from outside of Delhi.

Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.

Meanwhile, till November 14, the number of houses found positive for mosquito breeding stands at 2,35,661 while prosecution launched in the same period was for nearly 23,341 cases, according to the report.