PUNE: Dengue and chikungunya continue to wreak havoc in the city as Pune remains the top contributor to chikungunya cases in the state. The latest report of the state health department states that Pune district, including rural and city areas along with Pimpri Chinchwad, accounted for 96% of the total cases recorded across Maharashtra so far this year.The state had recorded 1,520 chikungunya cases this year till Saturday. Of these, a whopping 1,461 cases have been recorded in Pune district alone with the highest disease burden calculated in Pune city with 1,225 cases followed by the rural parts (212 cases) and Pimpri Chinchwad (24).In addition to chikungunya, dengue infected a sizeable number of people this year across the state. Maharashtra recorded 5,137 dengue cases and 16 deaths due to dengue fever induced complications during the same period. This was revealed in a report that considered data only from government-designated testing and sentinel centres for dengue and chikungunya. The report did not take into account data from private hospitals citing that they use rapid test kits, which may give false positive reports. “Rural parts of Maharashtra recorded 1,614 cases and eight deaths, while municipal corporations recorded 3523 cases and eight deaths during the same period,“ said Kanchan Jagtap, joint director (vector-borne diseases), state health department. As per the report, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation BMC ) and Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation has recorded two dengue death each. The highest three deaths were recorded within the municipal limits of Nashik. Pune Municipal Corporation has registered 540 ca ses and a single death, Rural parts of Kolhapur, Nashik and Pune recorded two dengue casualties each, while Ahmednagar reported one, the report states.“Pune city alone must have recorded a sizeable number of dengue related casualties this year. But most deaths remain unnoticed and unreported,“ said activist Sanjay Dabhade.TOI reported a total 11 deaths caused by dengue induced complications during this period. Many of the victims had tested positive for dengue antibody test (IgM) which is considered as confirmatory test for dengue.The health department has blamed the prevailing weather conditions for the spurt in the mosquito-borne diseases. “The drizzle and showers witnessed towards the end of August, September and October resulted in water accumulation, creating conducive breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti -the mosquito that causes dengue and chikungunya,“ said Jagtap.Besides, lax approach in tackling the cases is also one of the reasons for the rise in cases. PMC woke up to initiating the control measures from mid-August.