Intensifying its anti-dengue drive in the Dalanwala area of the city, the health department pressed five teams in the affected area on Thursday. These teams are instructed to visit every household and destroy all prospective breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
How seriously the department is taking the threat of dengue in the area which houses many prominent schools of the city could be gauged from the fact that it has deployed about 70 persons in anti dengue operations. Apart from these teams the City Urban Health Officer Dr Rakesh Bisht, Epidemiologist Dr DK Juneja, District Surveillance Officer Dr SS Khanduri and District Vector Borne Disease Officer (DVBDO) JP Bahuguna are also camping in the area.
The health department has appointed Dr RP Khanduri who is in charge of CHC Raipur as the monitoring officer of the anti dengue operations. On Thursday the teams of health department took 30 samples of the suspected cases of dengue in the area and sent them for the confirmatory Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ElISA) test.
The DVBDO Bahuguna said that 400 tablets of Paracetemol, ORS pouches are also distributed in the area. He said that the teams are conducting intensive fogging of the area and asking people not to let the water collect in and around their houses.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr BS Jangpangi told The Pioneer that three teams from Rashtriya Bal Swasthaya Karyakram (RBSK) are also pressed in the service in the Dalanwala area in anti Dengue operations. Each team of RBSK consists of two doctors, one pharmacist and one technician.
Jangpangi said that apart from visiting the houses these teams are also spreading awareness about the methods to control dengue. He said that the teams would also visit all schools of the locality and ensure that all mosquito breeding grounds are destroyed there. Jangpangi accepted that the situation is critical but added that the department is committed to prevent the spread of the disease.
He said that since the vector of Dengue Aedes Aezypti mosquito lay its eggs in clean water people should decant collected water in their fridges, coolers, pots or cans. Jangpangi added that the kerosene or other oils should be spread over small water bodies which act as the breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Dengue is a viral infection spread by the mosquito Aedes Aezypti popularly known as Tiger Mosquito due to the characteristic strips over its body. The presence of this virus is detected by conducting the Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ElISA) test which is the confirmatory test for the disease.The symptoms of the disease are persistent high fever, rashes, headache and pain in the joints. In the acute cases the platelets number in blood decrease drastically which may prove fatal for the patient.