Ahmedabad Municipal authorities believe that September and October will likely see an increase in cases of dengue, chikungunya, and zika. Due to the large number of mosquitoes in general and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in particular, which are the carriers of these viruses in Ahmedabad.
The density of Aedes aegypti mosquitos is now less than two per room, but Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department predicts that this number will rise.
In Nikol, Gomtipur, Asarwa, and Vejalpur, where mosquito densities have increased by one aedes aegypti mosquito per room, signs of population growth are already visible.
“Last year, the peak in Aedes aegypti numbers was seen between July and September, when there had been 2,000 dengue cases in a 30-day period. A similar trend is expected this year between September and October,” said a senior AMC health official.
Officially, dengue killed two youngsters in the city last year: an 11-year-old boy from India Colony and a 10-year-old girl from Odhav.
The city has a 0.39 Aedes aegypti density. 1,030 of the 4,979 serum samples collected by AMC for the dengue positivity test have already been processed.
3,104 dengue cases were reported in the city in 2021, 432 cases in 2020, and 168 cases in the first seven months of 2022.
“There are clear warning signs in the increasing aedes aegypti mosquito density. Overall mosquito density – of anopheles, culex and aedes genera -Ahmedabad has registered a density of 3.98 mosquitoes per room. Paldi has the maximum mosquito density of 24 mosquitoes per room,” said a senior AMC official.