Six more dengue deaths from October and November were added to the official toll on Monday, taking the total number of deaths this year to 23. This is the highest official toll after the outbreak in 2015, which affected nearly 16,000 people and killed 60. All six deaths reported were in children aged between eight months and 15 years, according to information provided by the Municipal Corporations of Delhi.
Moreover, 131 new dengue cases were added to the weekly bulletin on Monday, taking the total number of infections this year to 9,545.
This includes an eight-month-old boy from Kirari, a seven-year-old boy from Prem Nagar, an eight-year-old girl from Dakshinpuri, a 10-year-old boy from Tri-Nagar, a 13-year-old boy from Om Vihar extension, and a 15-year-old boy from Mehrauli. Three of the deaths happened in the last ten days of October and the other three through November. In fact, fifteen of the 23 persons who died of dengue deaths this year were children.
The deaths get added to the official toll only after a review by an expert death audit committee finds that the infection was the primary cause of death and that it was acquired in Delhi itself. The actual number of deaths reported from city hospitals is likely to be higher as several persons from the National Capital Region as well as the neighboring states come to Delhi for treatment.
