The Hindu : Middle-class most hit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003

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Other States - New Delhi

Middle-class most hit

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI OCT. 21. If you are a working male, between 15-45 years, and come from a middle-class stratum, you are more likely to get the dreaded dengue fever than anyone else in the Capital. An official analysis of 1,537 dengue cases reported in the Capital so far has revealed that it is the male, youths and those from the middle class, who are "more vulnerable" to the bite of the dangerous aedes mosquito causing dengue.

As per the analysis done by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, 67.4 per cent of the 1,537dengue patients were male and the rest 32.6 per cent female. Further, 57.51 per cent of the total cases were in the age group of 15-45, while those above 45 and senior citizens accounted for just 4.99 per cent.

While 5.53 per cent of the dengue cases were less than four years of age, 14.31 per cent were between five and nine years and 13.01 per cent between 10 and 14 year. Senior MCD officials said the age of 5.53 per cent patients could not be ascertained.

As for the social-strata of society most hit by the dengue disease, senior MCD health officials said preliminary studies have revealed that it was a middle-class phenomenon. "We are neither receiving dengue cases from posh colonies like Sunder Nagar, Greater Kailash, Green Park and Defence Colony nor from slum clusters like Yamuna Pushta. A majority of the cases of dengue fever are from middle-class colonies like R. K. Puram, Rohini or from AIIMS,'' the official said.

Based on this analysis, public health experts have concluded that the incidents of biting of the aedes mosquito were more at work places than in houses. It is probably for this reason that the MCD today directed the Deputy Health Officers to intensify anti-mosquito breeding operations at all schools, office buildings, industrial, commercial and market complexes. It has also requested the Central Government to intensify its operations in all its offices in the Capital.

Commenting on the dengue-data analysis, senior MCD officials said this was quite unlike other diseases which generally tend to hit weaker sections of society most. This also indicates lack of awareness among the middle-class and educated sections of society, officials said.

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