Dengue which was hitherto on a lull this season has suddenly shown its presence in a big way in the provisional State capital. Six new cases of the disease were reported by the district health department on Wednesday.
Dengue which affected the population of State on a big scale last year was showing respite this year as only 12 cases of it were reported till Tuesday. However, things took a serious turn on Wednesday as suddenly six cases cropped up on the day.
Out of the six cases reported positive on the day four belonged to Roshanabad in Haridwar and two were from Rani Pokhari in Dehradun. Interestingly at Rani Pohhari the dengue has been found positive in a 27-year-old man and 24-year-old woman and they are husband and wife.
The district in charge of the integrated disease surveillance programme, Dr Puneet Chandra said that the most of the patients found positive for the disease belong to Haridwar district.
Roshanabad in Haridwar district appears to have infestation of the dengue this year. Out of the 18 cases reported so far in Dehradun, 10 patients are residents of this small town.
The experts believe that the virus is endemically (localised) active in the area in the same way as it was active last year in Bhandaribag area of Dehradun. Of the four new cases reported from Roshanabad in Haridwar, three are minor; one is seven year old while the other two are 11 and 15 year old respectively.
The symptoms of dengue are persistent high fever, rashes, headache and pain in the joints. In the acute cases the platelets number decrease drastically which may prove fatal for the patient. The tiger mosquito (called due to the characteristic stripes on its body) is responsible for transmitting the virus. This mosquito strikes during day time and it is suggested that people should wear full sleeved clothes to prevent mosquito bite.
Dehradun reported 1,434 cases of Dengue last year, a quantum increase from 829 cases reported in the year 2015. This year the district health authorities were feeling a bit reprieved on the fact that very less cases as compared with last year are being reported this time around. However, six new cases in a day on Wednesday have jolted the health authorities.