The dengue threat continuing to loom over Dehradun and its nearby areas, 20 new cases of the disease have been reported by the district health authorities of Dehradun. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Dehradun, Dr S K Gupta said that none of the cases found positive in the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test are from Dehradun city. He said that seven cases of the disease have been reported from Rishikesh town of the district and the rest 13 cases are from Haridwar and Tehri Garhwal districts. With seven new cases on the day, the number of dengue cases in Dehradun district this season has mounted to 20. The dengue has, however, taken a form of outbreak in Rishikesh and adjoining Chauda Bigha area falling in Tehri district.
The district vector-borne diseases officer Subhash Joshi said that the people should ensure that the breeding places of mosquitoes inside their houses and their vicinity are destroyed. He said that Aedes mosquitoes-the vector of dengue- are capable to lay their eggs in one spoonful of water so the pots, vases, water bottles and coolers must be decanted. The officer added that the Aedes mosquito bites during day time and, thus, it is advisable that everyone should wear full sleeve clothes to reduce exposure of their body for the mosquito to bite.