Jammu, Nov 19: As the viral outbreak continues to hit Jammu and Kashmir, the experts revealed that the UT was recording the worst ever viral infections with the highest ever Chikungunya viral infection cases being reported from the Jammu region.
Officials revealed that the number of Dengue cases reported in Jammu region so far have been the second highest ever in J&K.
While the maximum number of the viral infections this year were reported from the Jammu region, Jammu has been the worst affected by Chikungunya and Dengue infections , officials said.
“The highest ever 550 cases of Chikungunya viral infection have been reported from J&K with Jammu region being worst affected and Jammu District accounting for maximum number of cases,” a senior official of the Health Department, Dr Harjeet Rai informed Rising Kashmir.
The J&K also recorded the second highest number of Dengue cases this year. A total of 8235 Dengue cases were reported in J&K last year, while a total of 6069 people with Dengue infection have so far been reported in J&K.
Jammu District is the worst affected with maximum number of Chikungunya and Dengue cases. So far, seven people have died due to Dengue this year, while 18 people lost their lives due to the vector borne disease last year.
The experts said that Dengue is fatal, while Chikungunya hits morbidity and the patient usually takes between 6-8 weeks to recover fully. The patient affected with Chikungunya experiences severe joint pain.
They said that Dengue is fatal but the patient recovers within 10-12 days, while the ones affected with Chikungunya undergo severe joint pain and it takes 6-8 weeks for them to recover.
The experts said that migratory populations from Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP) are responsible for the Chikungunya cases, which have been the highest so far in J&K.
They said that the vector carrying (responsible) Dengue and Chikungunya is the same but the highest ever Chikungunya cases reported in J&K are due to migratory population. “Earlier, we didn’t have such large number of Chikungunya cases here in J&K. The viral infection cases are on decline now and will subside by the end of December,” the experts said.
