305 dengue cases in BMC area this year, 2nd lowest since 2017
Times of India | 17 November 2024
123 Kolkata: The dengue count this year in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area of Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Gopalpur is the second lowest in seven years. So far, 305 persons have been affected by dengue this year.
The lowest cases since 2017 were recorded in 2020, the year the pandemic had struck. Only 238 dengue cases were reported in BMC area that year. The third lowest dengue figures since 2017 were in 2021 when a 595 cases were reported. Last week, 20 dengue cases were recorded in BMC, down from 30 in each of the previous five weeks.
With winter beginning to set in and the temperature set to slide further, dengue cases are expected to touch single digit next week onwards. Civic officials said with about a month and a half left in the year, the dengue count is unlikely to cross the 450-mark.
There were severe dengue outbreaks in the past two years. 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.
In 2017, BMC had recorded 3,105 NS1 positive cases. In 2018, 978 dengue cases were reported. The following years until last year reported 1,371, 238, 595, 4,222, and 3,956 dengue cases respectively, with 305+ figures running this year to date.
In 2024, there have been two dengue deaths in the BMC area till now. A 69-year-old resident of the Gopalpur Sarat Pally area died from dengue last Saturday. A few months back, a 60-year-old resident of Kaikhali also died from dengue. No dengue death has been reported from Salt Lake yet.
Civic officials said that regular dengue control measures have been conducted throughout the year. "Intensive cleaning and larvicide spraying work has been done ahead of the monsoon season this year. The vector control drive is still being carried out and will continue till the end of the year," said a BMC official.