Times of India
24 April 2010
By Umesh Isalkar
Pune, India

Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad Hit; Water Shortage Leading to Storage the Cause
Clearly, this is a fallout of burgeoning cities with unplanned growth and unremitting construction. Almost 70 per cent of dengue cases registered between April 2009 and March 2010 were recorded from the state’s urban areas. Moreover, Maharashtra registered almost three-fold increase in laboratoryconfirmed dengue cases.

As many as 2,309 cases were recorded in 2009-10 as against 831 positive dengue cases reported in 2008–09, marking a staggering 177 per cent rise. Most cases were from Pune, Pimpri–Chinchwad, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Ahmednagar.

Among the total 20 dengue deaths registered throughout the state till March, Mumbai was on top with 14, followed by Pune with 4 deaths. The Pimpri–Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), which reported the highest number of 856 positive cases, had one death in 2009–10. This was revealed in the report of National Vector–Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP), Maharashtra State recently.

“The water scarcity all over the state is among the prime reasons for the spurt in cases. A shortage of water leads to storage, and the larvae of the dengue mosquito grow in stagnant, clean water,” said state entomologist A S Bhosale.

He attributed the rise in urban cases to lack of concrete healthcare machinery, inadequate staff and infrastructure in cities that were growing.

“Unplanned growth and construction activities are some reasons for dengue cases in urban areas. In the rural parts, the state has a team of 12,000 multipurpose workers who go door–to–door and take stock of the situation every fortnight. As many as 16 sentinel centres for diagnosis of dengue were set up in the state in 2008. It is among the reasons why more cases are being detected,” said Bhosale.

PCMC medical director Rajshekhar Iyer said, “Intermittent rain leads to accumulation of water in scrap and becomes a perfect breeding ground for the mosquito.”

2009–10
Dengue Cases

• Total number
• 2, 309 Mumbai
• 48 Pune Rural
• 115 PCMC
• 856 PMC
• 103 File photo

Dengue Deaths

• Total number of dengue deaths
• 20 Mumbai
• 14 PMC
• 4 PCMC
• 1 Gondia
• 1

2008–09
Dengue Cases

• Total number of dengue cases
• 832 Mumbai
• 18 Pune
• 300 (Including PCMC) PMC
• 57 Solapur
• 63 Thane
• 83 Beed
• 62 Aurangabad
• 46

Dengue Deaths

• Total number of dengue deaths
• 21 Mumbai
• 13 Jalna
• 5 PMC
• 1 Thane
• 1 Aurangabad
• 1