Dengue cases in Karnataka are nearing 10,000, with the health department reporting a total of 9,962 positive cases as of Monday. Tragically, another death in Shivamogga has brought the total number of dengue-related fatalities to eight. This figure does not include the death of an 11-year-old boy in Bengaluru on July 5, which was later confirmed by BBMP officials to be due to dengue.
The health department’s bulletin reveals that nearly 37% of all dengue cases reported in the state until Monday evening were among individuals aged up to 18 years. Alarmingly, the number of dengue cases among infants aged 0-1 year has also been increasing, with 176 cases reported statewide.
So far, over 73,900 blood samples have been tested for dengue, with several thousand samples tested daily. In Bengaluru alone, 363 new cases were recorded on Monday, including 35 hospitalizations. This brings the city’s total number of positive cases to 3,487. Additionally, there are 19,066 suspected dengue cases, where people show symptoms similar to dengue but have not yet tested positive. Between January 1 and July 1, Bengaluru recorded 1,563 positive cases and 6,443 suspected cases. Within two weeks, these numbers doubled to 3,124 positive cases and 14,281 suspected cases.
Despite the rise in numbers, Dr. Savitha S K, head of the vector-borne disease control programme wing of the BBMP, stated that there is no cause for alarm. “We are actively searching for cases during our door-to-door surveys and also passively collecting data from hospitals. Last year, data was lost or not captured accurately, particularly in private hospitals, which did not record the addresses of patients. This impacted our total numbers but we are documenting cases better this year,” she said.
Sources in the health department, who wished to remain anonymous, mentioned that some underreporting at the city level was done to avoid causing panic among residents. As a result, comparing this year’s data with the previous year’s figures may not provide an accurate picture.