Winter May Stem Rise in India Dengue Virus Death Toll

New Delhi (Christian Today) - Even as death toll of people stricken by dengue has gone upto 135 in the country and dozens of fresh cases are being reported every day, people in India are hoping that with winter round the corner and sudden fall in temperature, the spread of dengue virus could be brought under control.

|PIC1|According to the latest status report released by the Health Ministry, a total number of 2051 cases and 40 deaths have been reported from Delhi, NCR and other states. Out of these, 1298 cases have been reported from Delhi, while 753 cases are reported from the NCR and other states.

Apart from Delhi, the maximum number of dengue cases have been reported from Rajasthan (838), followed by Kerala (834), West Bengal (627), Maharashtra (582), Uttar Pradesh (513), Gujarat (456), Punjab (413), Tamil Nadu (307), Haryana (232)and Andhra Pradesh (76).

However, P.L. Joshi, chief of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, which is monitoring the infection spread, is hoping that weather can help solve what man could not.

If the rains continue and the mercury goes down below 24 degrees celsius, there will be decline in the breeding of dengue vector, Aedes mosquito, Joshi said. The ideal temperature for the Aedes mosquito to breed in is 25-35 degrees.

"Mosquitoes, transmitting dengue cannot survive in cold temperature," he said, adding that the transmission of the viral will soon come to an end.

According to Joshi, there has been a slight decline in the number of cases, but it would take another week to confirm the trend.

"We are hopeful that the virus would be controlled in another 10 days now that the temperatures have dipped. We believe that there would be lesser number of newer cases reported in Delhi," said D.S. Negi, health secretary, Delhi. "We hope that soon the deaths would also stop."

"This change in weather is a good sign for people as the dengue virus cannot survive in a such weather," said Shakti Gupta, medical superintendent, AIIMS.

"We expect that there will be fewer cases of new dengue patients now," said Anil Sharma, another AIIMS doctor looking after dengue cases.

"It is true that there is a downward trend in dengue because of the change in weather but we have to be very careful," said N.K. Yadav, medical officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

"If the number of cases being reported continues to go down, we believe the virus could be controlled in another 10 days. We have to be very careful and use all our resources to further limit the spread of virus," Yadav said.

Meanwhile, in several states across India, governments are releasing funds to halt the spread of dengue through awareness programmes and preventive measures.