Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With eight more patients of dengue found in the city in the last 10 days, the health department has alerted staff to gear up for controlling vector borne diseases along with tackling COVID-19 spread. The department has also intensified larvae surveys across the city.
The health department has also issued an advisory for people. According to District Malaria Officer Dr Daulat Patel, eight positive cases of dengue were found in the last ten days of August. A total of 19 cases of dengue have been reported since January.
Nine cases were reported in July and fortunately no death due to the deadly disease has been reported so far.
“Eight cases of dengue have been found positive in the city in this month, so far. All patients are stable, some of them have also been discharged,” Dr Patel told Free Press.
He added that the health department has been fogging in the surrounding of patients’ houses and also distributing medicine to the residents in the area.
“Over 31792 houses were surveyed and 164788 containers were checked for larvae in January. Larvae found in 642 containers were eliminated. We are running an awareness campaign but public support is equally important to control vector-borne diseases. Along with taking care of water stored in their surroundings, people should also use mosquito repellents and avoid mosquito bites by wearing full-sleeved clothes,” Dr Patel said.
He also added that old people, pregnant women, and children are prone to disease due to weak immunity.
Dengue prevention
As per WHO, method to control transmission of dengue virus is to combat mosquitoes through:
* Preventing mosquitoes from accessing egg-laying habitats by environmental management and modification
* Disposing of solid waste properly and ensure that there is no waterlogging in pots, tyres, coolers, containers
* Covering, emptying and cleaning of domestic water storage containers on a weekly basis
* Applying insecticides to water storage outdoor containers
* Using window screens, long-sleeved clothes, insecticide treated materials, coils and vaporizers
