Publication:

Dengue outbreak in state of Uttar Pradesh, North India: lessons learnt and way forwards

Dengue, a vector borne viral disease, is endemic in most areas of India and sometimes causes epidemics annually. Each of the dengue outbreaks causes higher number of mortality and morbidity, which has a significant socioeconomic impact. Northern India is most severely impacted by each of the dengue outbreaks. India had clocked 289235 and 233519 dengue cases with 485 and 297 deaths in the year 2023 and 2024 respectively, as per the information provided by the national centre for vector borne diseases control (NCVBDC), a record highest in last five years.  In Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India, there have been more than 35,402 and 15868 confirmed cases of dengue and 36 and 9 deaths were reported in 2023 and 2024 respectively, which is one of the most severe in last decade. Patients were reported from urban as well as semi-urban, and rural areas. It is necessary to properly monitor the dengue cases through both active and passive disease surveillance in order to ensure prompt case management along with containment measures if dengue outbreak control is to be achieved in future.