Chikungunya virus: 13 dead and 1,100 contaminations

New Delhi recorded the largest outbreak of Chikungunya in the last decade, with 13 dead and more than 1,100 cases of the disease, health authorities reported on Monday in the capital of India, who reject the idea that there would be health emergency, reports EFE.

"So far there are about 1,100 cases of the disease, more than in the last ten years," declared the Director of General Health Services in Delhi, Tarun Seem for the Spanish press agency, adding that the data confirm reveals 13 deaths caused by this disease.

The responsible said that there "is not a health emergency" because Delhi has enough medical resources to care for and respond to a disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

“There are no deaths listed because to date, there have been no recorded deaths in India. Some hospitals in Delhi have been reporting chikungunya-related deaths, which haven’t been confirmed by the state. Once they are, they will be added to the national list,” said a ministry official who did not want to be named.

Chikungunya numbers may be higher than what has officially been reported as not all who show symptoms get tested. Those who do may show false negative results if they get tested either too early or too late for diagnosis. “We usually do not prescribe chikungunya tests in patients who show symptoms of the disease. Only where we suspect chikungunya or dengue but the patient doesn’t show clear symptoms do we ask for these tests to confirm,” said Dr Srikant Sharma, senior consultant, medicine department, Moolchand Hospital.