In view of increasing dengue cases across the State, Haryana Health Department on Thursday directed all civil surgeons in the State to intensify measures to prevent spread of dengue.
A spokesman of the Health Department said that instructions have been issued that already constituted Rapid Response Teams should be activated and frequent visits to the affected areas should be ensured to pick up any abnormal rise in incidence or any impending outbreak. They should also ensure fogging in their respective districts. Adequate supply of testing kits should be ensured to all Sentinel Surveillance Hospitals (SSHs), he added.
The State has reported more than 800 confirmed cases of dengue so far.
The spokesperson said that where SSHs are not established, the ElISA Reader and Washer available in blood banks in the districts may be utilised for dengue testing.
He said that NS1 antigen kits for detection of infection of 1-5 days should be purchased at local level as per rules. IgM test kits for detection of infection after five days may be demanded from NIV Pune or may be collected from nearby SSHs under intimation to Director Health Services (Malaria). Also, the Civil Surgeons should ensure testing of collected dengue samples at the earliest, taking into consideration wastage of test kits.
The spokesman said that wards should be kept reserved for dengue patients and to ensure availability of all therapeutics to manage dengue patients. For platelets, two new Apheresis Machines have been installed and made functional in districts Gurgaon and Panchkula. The Cell Separator Machines are already available at PGIMS, Rohtak, Government Hospital Karnal, Badshah Khan Hospital Faridabad and Government Hospital Yamunanagar. Where component separator is not available, private blood banks may be asked to provide platelets as per guidelines circulated by Haryana State Blood Transfusion Council, said he.
He said that Civil Surgeons have been directed to conduct door to door surveys, particularly in urban areas and slums to check Aedes’ breeding sites inside the houses, which include fresh water collected in coolers, tanks, unused tyres, openly thrown items and other household water containers.