NEW DELHI, Sept. 15 (UPI) — India’s capital of New Delhi is bearing the brunt of an increase in dengue fever patients, marking the worst outbreak of the disease in the country in five years.
A doctor at the Hindu Rao Hospital, Mohamma Yahya, told Al Jazeera Tuesday that staff had set aside half of the hospital’s wards for dengue patients. There are so many patients, some have had to share beds, with as many as four patients taking up one bed.
Yahya said a poor drainage situation in the city, exacerbated by large construction projects since the Commonwealth games in 2010, has added to the dengue problem.
The city’s health ministry mandated all government institutions open up fever clinics in order to respond to the outbreaks and potentially detect the disease at earlier stages. The ministry also recommended individuals check themselves into the hospital only after consulting with a doctor and not simply out of panic.
The government further encouraged politicians to visit hospitals in the areas they represent at least once per day to ensure all the necessary tools are in place, especially dengue testing kits. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reportedly made such visits Tuesday and said his government is seeking to produce legislation to will punish hospitals who refuse to take in patients.
A spokesperson for the government, Charan Singh, also told Al Jazeera that 1,872 cases of the disease had been confirmed as of Tuesday, including five deaths.
Dengue is contracted through the bite of a female mosquito. Its symptoms include joint and muscular pain in addition to fever and headaches. New cases typically peak in October since mosquitoes breed the most after monsoon season ends.
No vaccine is available for the disease. The World Health Organization estimates 96 million seek treatment for the disease and 500,000 require hospitalization each year for severe dengue fever.
The mortality rate is less than 1 percent with treatment.
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