A 69-year-old woman from Rajarhat who had tested positive for dengue died on Saturday.

Shivani Das, a resident of Rajarhat’s Narayanpur, died at a private hospital near Chinar Park owing to “sepsis caused by dengue haemorrhagic fever”, an official at the hospital said.

Health department officials and doctors said fewer dengue cases have been reported in Bengal this year compared with last year but warned against dropping the guard as the dengue season is still not over.

Family members said Das had been running a temperature for the past week. She was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday.

“She had been suffering from high fever. We got her admitted to a private hospital near Chinar Park on Tuesday, after the dengue test came back positive. She was initially responding to the treatment but her condition started worsening on Friday,” said Sanjay Das, the patient’s son.

An official in the state health department said the number of dengue cases in Bengal is “distinctly lower” so far this year compared with 2023.

In the Calcutta municipal area, about 790 dengue cases have been reported since
January. During the corresponding period in 2023, the municipal area recorded about 11,000 cases.

“The number of cases this year is about 90 per cent less than last year. The cases are fewer compared with 2022, too. A study will be able to explain why the numbers are so low this year,” said an official in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which is responsible for implementing vector-control measures in the city.

The KMC runs clinics in the 144 wards to treat vector-borne diseases.

“Our anti-vector measures will continue and people should remain on their guard because temperatures are still high. If it rains in the next few days, there might be a spurt in infections,” said the official.

The Alipore Met office has forecast rain in Calcutta, South and North 24-Parganas, and East Midnapore later this week.

Since the dengue virus is spread by mosquitoes, public health professionals urge residents and the authorities to prevent the accumulation of water and garbage.

Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an infectious disease specialist at Peerless Hospital, said he came across far fewer dengue patients this year compared to 2023.

“The majority of the dengue patients I treated this year were from districts,” he said.

Bhattacharya stressed the need for prevention because though the dengue cases are much fewer compared with previous years, there is always the possibility of the disease taking a serious turn in a patient.