At 35, Kerala leads the fatality numbers due to dengue this season: Govt figures
Kerala may still be paying the price of the devastating floods earlier this year. With 35 deaths so far this year, the state is leading in dengue fatalities.
According to figures available with the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), till 30th September 2018, the total number of dengue cases in India was 40868 with 83 deaths. Of these 42% were in Kerala where floods and landslides earlier this year left a trail of devastation.
Though the Kerala death toll is less than last year, the state witnessed proportionately larger number of deaths this year compared to 2017. Last year only 11% dengue deaths had happened in Kerala.
TILL 30TH SEPTEMBER 2018, HIGHEST NUMBER OF DENGUE CASES WERE REPORTED FROM MAHARASHTRA (4667) FOLLOWED BY ODISHA (3883) AND KERALA (3660) BUT HIGHEST NUMBER OF CASUALTIES WERE REPORTED FROM KERALA (35 DEATHS)
With only three months left for the year to come to an end, and winter season having already begun in large parts of the country, the worst though may be over.
The corresponding figures for the total number of dengue cases in 2017 were 188401 with 325 deaths.
Dengue cases start to come down dramatically with the onset of winter as the vector mosquito cannot survive the drop in temperatures.
Till 30th September 2018, highest number of dengue cases were reported from Maharashtra (4667) followed by Odisha (3883) and Kerala (3660) but highest number of casualties were reported from Kerala (35 deaths) followed by Maharashtra (18) and Chattisgarh (10).
These numbers are a significant reduction when compared to complete data from 2017. Kerala had suffered several days of water-logging due to a devastating flood in second half of August this year, leading to a rise in the number of dengue cases.
In 2017, highest number of dengue cases were reported from West Bengal (37746) followed by Tamil Nadu (23294), Kerala (19994) and Karnataka (17844). In 2017, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra had reported highest number of casualties due to dengue with 65 deaths each, followed by West Bengal (46), Kerala (37), Uttar Pradesh (28), Punjab (18) and Rajasthan (14). Delhi and Karnataka reported 10 deaths each in 2017 due to dengue. Data from West Bengal however, was not reported in 2018.
