Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Oct 20: Chandigarh has reported 24 dengue cases so far this year, marking a five-year low, according to health department data.
Dr Suman Singh, director of health services, said nine cases were recorded in September, while nine more have been reported this month.
Data from the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control shows a steady decline in dengue cases in the Union Territory over the past five years. Chandigarh recorded 1,596 cases and three deaths in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The number dropped to 910 cases and one death in 2022, followed by 454 cases with no deaths in 2023 and 349 cases in 2024. In 2025, the city reported 66 cases with no deaths.
Dengue is a viral illness transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in stagnant water. Cases generally rise during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons.
Health department records show that 90 per cent of dengue cases reported last year occurred in the final quarter. Chandigarh recorded 14 cases in October, 32 in November and 14 in December, compared with just two in July and four in September. A similar trend was observed in 2024, when most infections were concentrated in the final three months.
Dr Monica Gupta, head of the department of general medicine at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, said dengue cases depend on several factors, including weather conditions, cleanliness drives and public awareness about preventing water accumulation where mosquitoes breed.
“Dengue cases tend to follow a cyclic pattern, with major outbreaks recurring every few years due to shifts in population immunity and mosquito density,” she said.
Symptoms typically appear four to five days after the bite of an infected mosquito, with fever being the most common symptom.
In its dengue advisory, the health department said free testing facilities were available at the Department of Virology at PGIMER, the Department of Microbiology at GMCH-32 and the Department of Microbiology at GMSH-16.