Dengue Explodes in Ahmedabad as October Cases Double, But Testing Drops by 66,000

AHMEDABAD — A sharp surge in mosquito-borne illnesses has placed Ahmedabad on high alert, with official data revealing that dengue infections in the city effectively doubled this October compared to the same period last year. Alarmingly, the health department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) appears to have slashed diagnostic testing, drawing blood samples for tens of thousands fewer citizens even as hospitals report overflowing wards.

According to health statistics available up to 31 October 2026, Ahmedabad recorded 513 dengue cases this past month—a massive leap from the 258 cases reported in October 2025. The overall tally for 2026 has climbed to 1,857 cases, surpassing last year’s 10-month total of 1,591 by 266 infections.

Two Consecutive Months of Steep Spikes

The alarming trend began well before October. In September 2026, the city logged 756 dengue cases—a staggering 68.7 percent increase over the 448 cases registered in September 2025.

Across September and October combined, Ahmedabad recorded 1,269 dengue cases in 2026, compared to 706 during the corresponding two-month stretch last year. This translates to an additional 563 cases in just 60 days, reflecting a severe seasonal outbreak across urban neighbourhoods.

Severe Drop in Testing Triggers Transparency Concerns

Despite the visible spike in patient admissions across private and civil hospitals, civic health authorities collected significantly fewer blood samples for vector-borne screening.

In October 2026, health teams gathered only 89,515 blood samples—down by over 66,000 from the 1,55,829 samples processed in October 2025. A similar pattern emerged in September, when testing fell to 1,87,863 samples from the 2,01,088 collected during the same month last year.

The drastic reduction in surveillance efforts has raised serious questions among medical experts and residents, with critics accusing civic administrators of intentionally curtailing diagnostic testing to keep official case counts artificially low.

Waterborne Illnesses and Contaminated Supply

Alongside vector-borne infections, the civic body recorded 63 cases of simple malaria, 15 cases of falciparum (toxic) malaria, and two cases of chikungunya in October.

While municipal authorities maintain that waterborne diseases remain strictly under control, municipal testing data suggests underlying risks in the city's drinking supply:

• Diarrhoea & Vomiting: 167 cases reported in October
• Typhoid: 194 cases reported in October
• Jaundice: 42 cases reported in October
• Water Quality Failures: Out of 75,146 drinking water samples tested between January and October 31, 322 failed quality tests. Furthermore, among 5.30 lakh chlorine test samples, 183 showed zero chlorine levels, pointing to localized contamination in supply lines.

With winter approaching, health professionals are urging civic authorities to scale up door-to-door fogging, intensify larva checks in residential zones, and restore full-capacity diagnostic testing across municipal health centres.