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Dengue hits U’khand; Haridwar worst affected

Thursday, 28 October 2021 | PNS | Dehradun

Community level spread in many areas of Roorkee in Haridwar; Cases mount to 101 in Doon

The spurt in the number of dengue cases in many parts of the state especially in Roorkee of Haridwar district has caught the state health department off guard. The department which was in a complacent mode after the cases of the Covid-19 reduced substantially has now suddenly been jolted into action with the rise in cases of vector borne disease dengue. In many villages of Roorkee the disease has spread to community level as large numbers of patients are being reported from there. On Wednesday 22 new cases of the disease were reported in Haridwar. The district now has 270 patients while a total of 398 patients have so far been reported in the state.

The officer in charge of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Dr Pankaj Singh said that the department is on alert mode and all the measures are being taken to control the spread of dengue. He said that with the drop in temperature the numbers of dengue cases are expected to drop.

 Meanwhile the number of dengue cases in Dehradun mounted to 101 on Wednesday with the health department reporting six new cases of the disease. The authorities reported three female and three male patients from different areas of the district on Wednesday.

The district vector borne diseases officer Subhash Joshi said that a survey of 1,99,778 houses in the district has so far been done in Dehradun and the teams of the department found the larvae of dengue causing mosquito in 9207 households. Apart from source reduction exercises the health department has also undertaken an awareness drive in which people are explained the ways to prevent the menace of dengue. Joshi said that the Aedes Aezypti, the vector of the disease, strikes during the day time and breeds in clear water. “One should wear full sleeved clothes to prevent exposure to the mosquito bite and don’t allow water to get collected in their vicinity,’’ he said.

Dengue is a viral infection spread by the mosquito Aedes Aezypti popularly known as Tiger Mosquito.  The symptoms of the disease are persistent high fever, rashes, headache and pain in the joints. In the acute cases the platelets number decreases drastically which may prove fatal for the patient.  In Uttarakhand the disease is more prevalent in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts. 

Ways to prevent Dengue

* Don’t allow water to collect in and near houses.

* Regularly decant fridges, coolers, pots or cans. 

* Spread kerosene or other oils on small water bodies which are effective to destroy the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes.  

* Inform the district authorities for fogging to kill mosquitoes

* Aedes strikes during day time and flies near ground level so wear full sleeved clothes at work places. 

* Immediately seek medical advice when someone develops fever.

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