New Delhil: Dengue cases shot up in the capital with 69 fresh cases in various hospitals but health officials attributed the increase in numbers to under reporting during the festival weekend.
The falling temperatures have already sounded the death knell for the dengue-causing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which cannot survive in cooler climes.
One person died in the capital due to suspected dengue, Municipal Health Officer N K Yadav said.
The mercury dipped to a minimum of 16.5 degrees Celsius in the capital - a temperature at which the Aedes mosquito cannot breed.
The mosquito breeds less vigorously in temperatures ranging between 18 degrees and 24 degrees Celsius and stops breeding completely once the mercury dips below 18 degrees, said Bir Singh, Professor of Community Medicine at AIIMS.
Snowfall and rains in north India led to a dip in the temperature in Delhi, which recorded a low of 16.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the weather office said.
The weatherman, however, said that winter was yet to set in and lower temperatures were due to regional disturbances in the weather conditions.
With 69 fresh cases, the total number of dengue patients in the capital this year rose to 2,173. On Sunday, 56 fresh cases were reported in the capital, while the 53 patients with dengue were admitted to various hopsitals on Monday.
"We have received 41 fresh cases in the past 24-hours," he said.
"The increase in the number of patients is primarily due to non-reporting of dengue cases by smaller hospitals over the past three days on account of Diwali holidays," Yadav said.
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