378 dengue cases in Sonepat, 271 in Panipat so far

Dip in temperature and foggy nights for the last few days has brought a sigh of relief for the Health Department officials. They had been hoping that the number of dengue counts would start to decline with the dipping temperature. However, there is no let-up in the spread of dengue cases in Panipat and Sonepat so far.

As many as 378 cases were reported in Sonepat district while the count rose to 271 in Panipat district.

According to available details, Sonepat witnessed 118 dengue cases in the last eight days only, i.e 15 cases per day on an average.

260 dengue cases were recorded on November 4 with the count reaching 367 by Tuesday evening, which is the second highest recorded in seven years.

Sonepat had recorded a total of 54 dengue cases in 2017, 22 cases in 2018, 12 cases in 2019, 15 cases in 2020, but it recorded the highest count in 2021 i.e. 1013 cases. 315 cases were reported in 2022 while 335 in 2023.

Dr Manjeet Rathi, Nodal Officer for Dengue & Malaria, in Sonepat said with the 11 confirmed dengue cases on Wednesday, the count rose to 378 cases this year. Besides, 35 cases of malaria were also recorded in the district this year, he added.

“With the dip in temperature, we have been hoping dengue cases will reduce in the coming days, as the tiger mosquito can not survive in low temperature,” Dr Rathi added.

In Panipat, with two more cases on Wednesday, the number of patients reached 271. The district has witnessed a total 48 cases in the last 8 days i.e. on an average six cases per day.

Panipat witnessed the highest number of dengue patients in 2017 with 469 cases. 133 cases were recorded in 2018 while the count reached only four cases in 2019 but it again recorded 272 cases in 2020, 287 cases in 2021, 296 dengue cases in 2022 while the patient number surged in 2023 with 335 dengue confirmed cases. However, this year the number of patients recorded less than the previous year.

Dr Sunil Sanduja, Deputy Civil Surgeon and Nodal officer for Dengue and Malaria said, with two confirmed cases the number of patients reached 271 this year. "It is also a very big number but the count is less than the previous year which is only due to our early preparations," Dr Sanduja said.

“Now the temperature has started dipping which is a good sign for the reduction in dengue cases. We have been hoping the number of patients would start declining in the coming days, Dr Sanduja maintained.