Even as the State Government on Wednesday took stock of the prevailing dengue situation in the State, the number of dengue patients in Cuttack district alone mounted to 73. And 65 of them are from Cuttack city alone. Currently 50 patients are under treatment at the SCB Medical College Hospital while the remaining are under treatment in various private hospitals.
According to hospital sources, bed strength of the special dengue ward has been enhanced to 50 and preparations are in full swing to have another ward having 100 beds to treat dengue exclusively.
While the outbreak of the disease was restricted only to Rausapatna and its adjoining areas of the city last week, it has now spread to fresh areas thereby creating panic among the city residents. The threat of dengue is haunting the people more for the fact that most low-lying areas of the city are now witnessing unprecedented waterlogging for past four days.
The hygiene and sanitation of the city have been badly affected as people in most parts are wading through knee-deep to ankle-deep rainwater filled with mock and sewerage as drainage system of the city has been crippled completely, thanks to an unresponsive civic body, allege people here.
Taking stock of the situation, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday day held a videoconference in which he directed the Collectors of the affected districts to ensure that the disease does not spread to fresh areas. He also asked the Collectors of Cuttack, Khurda, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Ganjam, Angul and Dhenkanal to remain alert and undertake massive sanitation drive in the affected and vulnerable areas.
According to a report, at least 119 dengue patients have been identified in the State so far. While 13 dengue patients have been identified in Khurda district, eight are from Angul, 10 from Dhenkanal, four from Jajpur and 11 are from Mayurbhanj.
Meanwhile, the State Government has come out with an advisory asking the people to immediately test their blood samples as soon as they suffer from any types of fever. If they test positive to dengue, they must immediately get admitted to hospitals having facilities to treat the disease. The Government has also announced that free ICU treatment would be made available to serious dengue patients.