700 new dengue cases in two weeks in Telangana

HYDERABAD: In a major health scare, 700 new cases of dengue, including 23 from Hyderabad, were reported from across the state in just a fortnight. While thousands of patients have landed in hospitals, 46 cases of dengue were reported on Sunday, mostly from Khamman and Warangal.


Also, six cases of chikungunya were recorded from Khamman on Saturday alone, while numbers from private hospitals might be at least five times more.

Doctors and health experts blame water-logging in the city for the spurt in dengue cases. The dengue-spreading Aedes mosquitoes are day biters and breed in fresh water, which makes them far more dangerous than malaria-causing

Anopheles

mosquitoes.

The number of dengue cases went up from 1,121 on August 30 to 1,816 on September 15, according to records maintained by National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.

Cases on the rise in most parts of state

Though the dengue season began early this year with a few cases recorded as early as February, the cases have now peaked. “Dengue cases are going up in most parts of the state and many are being reported from the outskirts of the city and neighbouring districts, majority of whom are going to private hospitals. We are also getting many cases at our hospital,” Dr K Shankar, superintendent at Fever hospital said.

Meanwhile, the season will continue up to October or November. With more rain expected over the next few days, cases might go up further, doctors said.

Studies have established that around 80% of

dengue virus

infection come from individuals who have mild or no symptoms of dengue, but are carriers, meaning that many more cases might be going unreported. The fact that people with no symptoms of dengue could be carriers was found in a study conducted last year by the US-based

University of Notre Dame

.