Pune: Oct has emerged as the city’s worst month for dengue so far this year, recording 843 laboratory-confirmed cases. This marks a sharp 27% increase from Sept (662 cases) and a 64% jump from Aug (512 cases).The surge was heavily concentrated, with just four wards—Aundh-Baner, Yerawada-Wadgaonsheri, Dhankawadi-Sahakarnagar, and Keshavnagar—driving half of entire case count in Oct. However, the spike was not uniform across the city; six out of Pune’s 16 wards actually saw a decline in cases compared to Sept, highlighting the need for neighbourhood-level investigations.As per the PMC data, the city’s Jan–Oct count reached 2,486, with more than four in five cases reported in the past three months.
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Aundh-Baner led Oct with 152 cases, followed by Yerawada-Wadgaonsheri (110), Dhankawadi-Sahakarnagar (92), and Keshavnagar (74); together, these four wards contributed about half of the city’s cases. Experts blame post-monsoon stagnant water spots, construction sites, household water storage during supply interruptions, and warm, humid conditions for facilitating mosquito breeding.Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and in-charge of vector-borne infections, said, “The month-wise and ward-wise IHIP report on dengue IgM and NS1 ELISA-positive cases recorded 2,486 cases between Jan 1 and Oct 30. Oct alone contributed nearly 34% of the total. Together, Aug, Sept, and Oct accounted for 2,017 cases, or 81% of the reported tally.”Dr Dighe added, “The monthly count rose from 103 in June to 366 in July, 512 in Aug, 662 in Sept, and 843 in Oct. Oct recorded both the highest caseload and the largest absolute monthly increase, adding 181 cases over Sept. Its tally was nearly 64% higher than Aug, underlining the sustained rise over three months.”Data shows that Aundh-Baner led Oct’s ward-wise count with 152 cases, compared with 107 in Sept and 66 in Aug. The ward also recorded the highest cumulative tally among all wards, at 364 cases.Yerawada-Wadgaonsheri reported the biggest absolute increase between Sept and Oct among the 16 wards. Cases climbed from 42 in Aug to 60 in Sept and 110 in Oct—an 83% increase over Sept. Dhankawadi-Sahakarnagar recorded a similarly persistent climb, from 36 in Aug to 54 in Sept and 92 in Oct, a monthly increase of 70%.The combined Sept-to-Oct increase in these three wards was 133 cases, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the city’s net rise of 181. Their combined monthly tally climbed from 144 in Aug to 221 in Sept and 354 in Oct.Keshavnagar emerged as another area of concern, recording 74 cases in Oct against 49 in Sept and 11 in Aug. Dengue cases in Kondhwa-Undri rose from 30 to 48 and then 65, while Tilak Road-Sinhagad Road count nearly doubled from 28 in Sept to 55 in Oct.Not all high-count wards followed this pattern, as some saw a dip in the number of cases in Oct compared to Sept. Kothrud recorded 73 cases in Oct, down from 80 in Sept but above 67 in Aug. Dengue cases in Nagar Road-Wagholi fell from 83 in Sept to 71 in Oct, matching the figure of Aug. Overall, ten wards reported increases and six recorded declines.Dr Dighe said, “While the number of cases has gone up, our action also intensified in Oct, as we surveyed 2.94 lakh homes and establishments and issued 448 notices. Throughout the year, we have investigated 16 lakh establishments and issued over 3,099 notices. We have also collected a total of Rs6.47 lakh as penalties, of which Rs90,400 was collected in the last month.”
