India reports spike in dengue fever since September

The number of dengue fever cases since September has surged in India producing approximately four times the number of cases this year compared to the same period in 2011.

Image/CIA

According to a report in The National, there have been 12,500 cases since September, compared with 2,859 in the same period last year, and the virus has killed 77 people in southern India this year compared with 33 last year.

The surge in cases of the potentially lethal mosquito-borne viral infection prompted health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to say, “It is not a panic situation, but we want to ensure that we take adequate prevention measures.”

The report notes, most cases are reported in October, just after the monsoon rains when the weather starts cooling, but reports of patients with dengue have been coming in from the southern states since last month.

Government officials in India say that hospitals, both private and public, were being equipped with the materials to test patients. In addition, funds are being released to increase mosquito spraying of breeding areas.

What is dengue fever?

Dengue fever is caused by one of four different but related viruses. It is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is found in tropic and subtropic regions.

For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page