The dengue onslaught is continuing unabated in Uttarakhand as 60 new cases have been reported by the health department on Wednesday. With them, the number of patients afflicted by the dreaded vector-borne disease has mounted to 272 in the State. In Haridwar alone, 50 new cases have been reported on the day which has taken the number of the afflicted to 112 so far this season.
In Dehradun, seven new cases have been reported by the health department on the day after their samples were found positive in the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test, the confirmatory test for dengue.
The district vector-borne diseases officer, Subhash Joshi said that the department in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun ( MCD) is undertaking extensive fogging in many parts of the city to keep a check on the population of mosquito.
He, further, said that the people should ensure that the breeding places of mosquitoes inside their homes and vicinity are destroyed. He said that Aedes mosquitoes-the vector of dengue-are capable to lay their eggs in one spoonful of water. It is, thus, imperative that the pots, vases, water bottles and coolers are decanted, he said. The officer added that the Aedes mosquito bites during day time and so it is advisable that everyone wears full-sleeve clothes to reduce exposure of body for the mosquito to bite.
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 decrease drastically which may prove fatal for the patient.