First death due to dengue reported in Delhi this year; 723 total cases

New Delhi, Oct 18: Delhi reported the first death due to dengue this year, while the number of cases of the vector-borne disease has mounted to over 720.

Of the total count of dengue cases in Delhi this year, 382 have been reported this month till October 16.

The total number of cases this year till October 9 stood at 480.

As per the civic report on vector-borne diseases released on Monday, one death and a total of 723 dengue cases have been recorded this season till October 16, which is highest count since 2018 for the same period.

In September this season, 217 cases were logged, the highest count for the month in the last three years.

This year along with the mild type 1 dengue, the Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus. These mosquitoes are also vectors of chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. 2 is also in circulation in parts of the country.

Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4). Recovery from infection is believed to provide lifelong immunity against that serotype.