The onset of winters and resulting decrease in temperature is failing to reduce the menace of dengue in provisional State capital as three new cases of the disease were reported by the District Health Department on Wednesday.
With them the number of people affected by the disease this season has jumped to 356.
The situation is grim as Swine flu in Dehradun has also emerged as a serious health problem for the residents of the city and it could escalate in winters. The Swine Flu has so far affected 172 people in the state capital and taken lives of 20 patients.
The District in-charge of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), Dr Puneet Chandra said 356 cases have been so far been reported positive for the dengue this year, out of which 192 are from Dehradun district, 117 are from Haridwar district, eight from Tehri, two each from Pauri and Rudraprayag and one from Chamoli district.
Apart from them dengue has been found positive in 32 persons belonging to Uttar Pradesh and one from Bihar. The department has collected samples of 6767 patients this year out of which 356 patients have been found positive in Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ElISA) which is the confirmatory test for the disease. Incidentally as many as 31 cases of dengue have been reported in the month of November till date.
Dengue is spread by Aedes Aezypti or tiger mosquito. It has characteristic stripes on its body due which it is called tiger mosquito. It strikes during day time and experts suggest that people should wear full sleeved clothes to prevent mosquito bite.