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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Massive spurt in dengue cases in 2012 -Kounteya Sinha

Massive spurt in dengue cases in 2012 -Kounteya Sinha

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published Published on Nov 24, 2012   modified Modified on Nov 24, 2012
-The Times of India

While cases of malaria and chikungunya show a dip across India, dengue cases have started to climb steadily.

Official records of the Union health ministry reveal that there has been a massive increase of dengue infection in the country this year.

India had recorded 15,535 cases and 96 deaths in 2009, but the corresponding figure till November, 2012, stood at over 35,000 cases and 216 fatalities.

Tamil Nadu has recorded the highest number of deaths (60), followed by Maharashtra (59), Karnataka (21), Punjab (15), Kerala (13) and West Bengal (9). In the number of confirmed cases, too, Tamil Nadu leads the pack with 9,249 cases, only next to Bengal (6,067 cases).

Two other states have breached the 3,000 mark - Kerala (3,674) and Karnataka (3,482).

Maharashtra, which has recorded the second highest number of deaths, however, reported fewer dengue cases at 1,464.

Delhi has recorded 1,584 cases and four deaths.

The number of cases of dengue infection and deaths is higher this year than the previous two years.

In 2010, India recorded 28,292 cases and 110 deaths, while it recorded 18,860 cases and 169 deaths last year.

In comparison, malaria cases and deaths have decreased from 15 lakh cases and 1,144 deaths in 2009 to 7.36 lakh cases and 309 fatalities this year.

In case of chikingunya, cases have decreased from 73,288 cases in 2009 to 14,227 cases in 2012.

Minister of state for health Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury said on Friday, "While there is an increase in the total number of dengue cases and deaths during the current year in various parts of the country, in case of chikungunya and malaria, the number of reported cases have declined."

Choudhury added, "For augmented diagnosis, 347 sentinel surveillance facilities have been established in hospitals across states. They are linked to 14 apex referral laboratories. ELISA-based NSI test kits for detection of cases from the first day of diseases can be procured by state governments under National Rural Health Mission."

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently sent out an ominous warning that climate change and global warming will make vector- borne diseases like dengue and malaria more lethal.

A landmark report on climate change and health published by WHO says that in the last 100 years, the world has warmed by approximately 0.75 degree Celsius. Over the last 25 years, the rate of global warming has accelerated, at over 0.18 degree Celsius per decade.

"Many of the major killers such as diarrhoeal diseases, malnutrition, malaria and dengue are highly climate-sensitive and are expected to worsen as the climate changes," said WHO.

It added, "Malaria is strongly influenced by climate. Transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, malaria kills almost 1 million people every year. The Aedes mosquito vector of dengue is also highly sensitive to climate conditions. Studies suggest that climate change could expose an additional 2 billion people to dengue transmission by 2080."

According to WHO, over the last century, the surface area on which malaria remains a risk has been reduced from half to a quarter of the earth's landmass, but due to demographic changes the number of people exposed to malaria has increased substantially over the same period.

Estimates of cases and deaths differ greatly: the number of cases stands between 200 million and 500 million while the death estimate is around 1 million per year.

On the other hand, dengue has become the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world.

It is estimated to cause over 50 million infections and around 15,000 deaths every year across approximately 100 countries.

"Infection could range from a mild flu-like fever to the potentially fatal severe dengue, which particularly affects individuals who are exposed to one of the four different strains of the virus as a secondary infection. Heavy rainfall can cause standing water, while drought can encourage people to store more water around the home, both providing breeding sites for Aedes mosquitoes. Warm temperatures increase the development rates of both the mosquito vector and the virus, fuelling more intense transmission," the report said.

The Times of India, 24 November, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Massive-spurt-in-dengue-cases-in-2012/articleshow/17342970.cms


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