The menace of dengue has started taking epidemic proportions in the provisional state capital Dehradun. On Friday, 30 new cases of the disease were reported by the district health authorities. With monsoon at its peak and lackadaisical attitude of authorities dealing in controlling the spread of disease, the number of cases of the disease would certainly increase in coming days. What is worrying health department is the fact that the cases of the disease are now being reported from all parts of the city.
The district vector borne diseases officer, Subhash Joshi said that 18 new cases of the disease were reported from Raipur road area on the day where maximum cases of the disease have being reported in this season.Similarly five cases were reported from Karanpur and two each from Subhash Road and Sahastradhara road. The health department also reported one case each from Dhamawala, Defence colony and EC road on the day. Joshi said that out of 132 cases, 126 are from Dehradun while 6 are from other districts.
He further added that the Asha workers of the district have been asked to intensify the awareness campaign, engage in source reduction activities and undertake door to door visits to curb the menace of the disease. “There are 300 Asha workers in the district and we are closely monitoring their activity,’’ he said.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Dehradun, Dr S K Gupta said that the department is on alert mode on the incidences of the disease. He said that isolation ward have been setup in all the major hospitals.
The CMO added that the teams of the health departments are coordinating with the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) to undertake fogging and other activities. He conceded that the cases of the disease can increase in coming days.
The CMO said that people should ensure that the breeding places of mosquitoes inside their homes and vicinity are destroyed. He added that Aedes mosquitoes - the vector of dengue- are capable of laying their eggs in one spoonful of water so the pots, vases, water bottles and coolers should be decanted regularly.
The officer said that the Aedes mosquito bites during day time so it is advisable that everyone should wear full sleeve clothes to reduce exposure of their body for the mosquito to bite.