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With more than 1,800 cases and nine deaths reported so far, Delhi and the National Capital Region is witnessing the worst outbreak of dengue since 2010.
On Monday, the government ordered
1,000 extra beds in hospitals to treat dengue patients. Doctors, nurses and paramedics at state-run hospitals have been told to cancel their leave immediately.
After the government's order to not turn away any patients, some hospitals said they were putting two or three children on one bed while others claimed to have put beds even in verandahs. Official data showed that more than 600 cases were reported in the last week alone. But the worst is yet to come. The disease normally peaks in the second and third week of October, so the numbers are going to go further up.
Conditions like stagnant water and damp weather, seen during and after the monsoon are ideal for the virus to grow and proliferate. The vector mosquitoes – the female Aedes aegypti - grow in numbers in these conditions. So dengue cases see a sharp spike in the months immediately after the monsoons.
The only way to control this disease is to take preventive measures as there is no vaccination or known drugs to cure it. However, the disease can be treated with plenty of supportive care and treatment.