Simon Robinson
It's been an interesting first few days. I arrived in New Delhi last week to take over as the Bureau Chief for South Asia after nearly eight years in Africa. India's capital is currently in the grip of one of the biggest dengue fever outbreaks for years.
More than 1700 people in Delhi have been diagnosed with dengue, a virus spread by the bite of the female Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Thirty five people have died in Delhi alone; nationally the outbreak has killed 109.
In Africa, or at least in parts of Africa, I'd become used to covering up in the evening to avoid being bitten by mosquitos carrying malaria. But Aedes Aegypti, which breeds in stagnant water, bites during the daytime so I have to learn a whole new level of discipline.
People who are unlucky enough to become infected come down with a high fever, skin rashes and agonizing joint pains. Their blood platelet count drops as well, which is what can prove fatal.
The outbreak has spread to neighboring Nepal and Pakistan. In Pakistan's port city of Karachi, 17 people have died of the disease in the past week or so.
Newspaper commentators joke that the smoke from the fireworks used in this weekend's celebrations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, will scare away all the mosquitoes. Let's hope so.
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