BMC sees single week highest number of dengue cases with 39 new infections
Times of India | 9 November 2024
12 Kolkata: Running late in the season, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported the highest single-week dengue cases for this year, with 39 fresh cases reported last week. This is the fifth consecutive week for BMC to record over 30 weekly cases since puja. The previous four corresponding weeks recorded 30, 37, 35, and 36 dengue cases. With this, the total dengue figures in the BMC area this year to date now stand at 285.
There have also been two dengue deaths in the BMC area this year so far. A 69-year-old resident of Gopalpur Sarat Pally area under BMC Ward 4 died from dengue last Saturday. In the other case, which occurred a few months back, a 60-year-old resident of Kaikhali also died from dengue.
Dengue cases in the BMC area of Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur have been on the rise since puja this year. Out of the 285 total dengue cases reported this year to date, 177 cases were reported in the last five weeks. During and the week after puja, almost half of the total dengue cases were reported from SoS Children's Village, an orphanage home in Salt Lake BK Block, where a major dengue outbreak occurred, with close to 40 children of the home affected.
Civic officials said that the present trend of over 30 weekly cases is likely to recede in the coming weeks as the temperature is slated to slide down. "Overall, compared to the last two years when severe dengue outbreaks occurred, dengue has been very low this year. Cleaning and larvicide spraying work are ongoing and will continue till the end of this year," said a BMC official.
BMC ended last year with 3,956 dengue cases, the second highest in recent times. In 2022, the civic body recorded 4,222 dengue cases, the highest since 2017.