Ludhiana reported 176 dengue cases in October, tally 276

The district clocked 176 dengue cases this October, which makes for over 63% of the total cases reported this year so far.
The district, this year till November 3 had reported 276 dengue cases.
While compared to the last two years this October logged the least number of cases. In October 2023, as many as 343 cases were reported while 224 cases were reported in October 2022.
However, last year the cases peaked in the month, whereas this year the cases only started picking up. This has made health officials weary of the number of cases only rising with the onset of November.
The first three days of November have already logged 19 cases.
“Last year, the cases started to rise in August. But this time, the spike started in October,” district epidemiologist Dr Sheetal Narang said.
In August last year, the district saw 109 dengue cases, a number that fell to 9 this year. A similar dip, from 183 to 35 cases, was also seen in September.
Dr Narang said there is no data on dengue deaths as it was sent to the state government for review and couldn’t be made public at this time.
Earlier the cases started falling as the temperatures started falling. Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquitoes, which causes dengue infection earlier couldn’t serve in temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius. However, over the last few years it has been seen to evolve in lower temperatures.
“Now, as the mosquitoes develop resistance to lower temperatures, the infections are likely to carry into the months with lower temperatures,” said Dr Narang.