PANAJI
Over the past 19 years, the State has been witnessing a concerning trend of dengue cases, with a startling increase of over 600 per cent. As per official records, in 2005, Goa had only one case of dengue but the situation worsened subsequently, and a sharp increase to nearly 1,000 cases was reported in 2019.
The current year too remains a cause for concern as in the last two months itself; over 152 confirmed cases of dengue have rattled the State authorities.
It was in 2015 when Goa recorded 293 cases, marking the worst scenario up to that point. This outbreak compelled the Directorate of Health Services to launch an extensive campaign to combat the disease, resulting in a decline to 150 cases in 2016.
Unfortunately, dengue cases surged again with 235 cases in 2017, reaching 335 cases in 2018 and in the following year in 2019, cases reached an all-time high at 992. The State also reported four suspected and one confirmed death attributed to dengue during that year.
In 2020, there were 376 cases, and then a sharp increase to 649 cases in 2021, before slightly decreasing to 429 cases in 2022, as per figures till October of last year.
This year, an alarming rise in dengue cases was reported in August and September with 152 confirmed cases and 4,511 suspected cases. This year itself, the Goa Medical College (GMC) reported 16 dengue-related fatalities.
