The monsoons in the national capital which brought welcome relief from the sweltering heat has come with a price – a spurt in mosquito breeding.
This spike in mosquito breeding has unfortunately paved the way for the spread of deadly diseases like chikungunya.
According to a report in the Times of India, doctors say that apart from the 180 dengue-related incidents, chikungunya cases were also pouring in.
Chikungunya is a viral disease spread by the Aedes mosquito, which is also the carrier of dengue. The symptoms include fever and acute joint pains.
At Max Hospital, Saket, doctors said 50 per cent of the patients visiting medicine OPD came with chikungunya-like symptoms. "Almost 80% of these patients are found positive for the disease," Dr Rommel Tickoo, senior consultant, internal medicine, TOI reported.
"The only difference between treating dhikungunya and dengue is that, while in the former, the use of nonsteroidal ant-inflammatory drugs is warranted, it is totally unadvisable in the latter. So, we also have to first rule out dengue before a patient can be given painkillers because paracetamol often fails to relieve the symptoms," said Dr Tickoo.
The incubation period of chikungunya is usually between two and 10 days and it mostly affects the young.
