Madhya Pradesh: Dengue tightening grip in city, 17 more test positive

Madhya Pradesh: Dengue tightening grip in city, 17 more test positive

MGM Medical College to test dengue strain prevalent in city. The total number of cases has reached 139 by the last count.

Staff ReporterUpdated: Monday, September 13, 2021, 01:32 AM IST
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IMC worker continued drive against dengue |

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The deadly dengue has been tightening its grip across the city as 17 more patients tested positive on Sunday. This is the first time after 2019 when such a large number of dengue patients have tested positive in a single day. With this, the total number of cases in the city has reached 139, so far.

Meanwhile, concerned over the increasing number of cases of vector-borne diseases, the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College administration has decided to test the strain of dengue virus prevalent in the city this year.

Sample tests every day

‘We’re soon going to test the virus strain prevalent in the city as the number of cases is increasing rapidly. We have the PCR machine for testing the strain of the dengue virus. We’re testing samples every day and providing reports to the health department within 24 hours,’ said Dr Anita Mutha, HoD, Microbiology, at MGM Medical College.

Not so virulent this year

‘We’re continuously surveying the areas to prevent the deadly vector-borne disease and also to spread awareness among the people for preventing the disease. We’re sending samples to MGM Medical College for testing and the strain will be tested by them. With the increasing number of cases, we believe that DenV-1 or DenV-2 is prevalent, but this can be confirmed only after the strain is tested. However, the dengue virus isn’t so virulent this year as the patients are getting healthy soon with primary treatment,’ said Dr BS Saitya, chief medical and health officer.

Frequent weather changes favour mosquito breeding

‘With the frequent fluctuations in temperature, health department officials are finding it difficult to control vector-borne diseases. The current weather conditions are also favourable for the breeding of mosquitoes as the temperature is fluctuating in the city with intermittent rainfall taking place. The condition of new patients admitted to different hospitals is stable and they’re recovering. The department’s continuous anti-larvae drive hasn’t let the disease spread very much compared to the other districts and states,’ said Dr Daulat Patel, district malaria officer.

Ganesh Nagar a hotspot, 3 dengue cases found

‘As many as 17 new cases of dengue were found from Shubham Palace, Khatiwala Tank, Scheme No. 51, Mahalaxmi Nagar, South Tukoganj, Shiv City, Bhanwarkuan, Mahesh Guard Lines, Brahmpuri, Pipliyarao, Anandpuri, three cases from Ganesh Nagar, LIG and Talawali Chanda. We’ve been conducting door-to-door surveys and taking daily reports of suspected patients. During an anti-larvae survey, we found larvae at over 1,000 places in the city and destroyed them. Due to this reason, no casualty was reported in the city except one last month. Public participation is important for controlling the disease as we can prevent mosquito generation through our anti-larvae drive and fogging, but we can’t protect people from mosquito bites. People should take care of themselves and use mosquito repellents to avoid the deadly disease,’ said Dr Daulat Patel, district malaria officer.

Dengue prevention

According to WHO, the methods for controlling the transmission of the 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 removing artificial man-made habitats, such as water collecting in pots, tyres, coolers, containers

Covering, emptying and cleaning domestic water storage containers weekly

Applying appropriate insecticides to outdoor water storage containers

Using window screens, wearing long-sleeved clothes, insecticide-treatment materials, coils and vaporisers

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