The district administration has stepped up vigil and launched awareness drives to prevent Dengue in Bokaro.
“We are at work, door-to-door surveillance for Dengue and Chikungunya control is being done under all the community health centers of the district, including the urban areas of Bokaro Steel City, Chas Municipal Corporation, Phusro Municipality area,” said District VBD Advisor Ashish Kumar.
Rapid Response teams have been constituted and Anti-larva chemicals are also being sprayed in the water lodged areas besides conduction of awareness drives, he said.
The people have been urged to inspect their homes for any possible sources of stagnant clean water that can lead to the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, which spread vector-borne diseases, he said.
The door-to-door survey work has also been done under the campaign and is being monitored by VBD officer Dr. N. P. Singh.
Under this, volunteers of the Dengue Surveillance Team will go door-to-door to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites inside the house and collect information, including how many days a person has fever, severe headache, joint and muscle pain.
The team is also collecting information related to pain in head, muscles, chest along with rashes on hands and later they will submit it to District Rural Health Mission Committee Bokaro, said the official.
Apart from this, the surveillance team is also making everyone aware to prevent Dengue and Chikungunya, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Singh has appealed to the mass to observe a day as a dry day and identify and destroy the breeding sites of mosquitoes.
“Remember prevention is always better than cure”, said Dr Singh, adding, “we can avoid Dengue and Chikungunya by taking precautions.”
Please do not take any fever lightly, this fever can be dengue; immediately contact the nearest health center, urged Dr Singh.
Use insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and control mosquitoes inside and outside your home. Avoid dengue by preventing mosquito bites, he said.
“We have sought public support in controlling the menace of vector-borne diseases and also sent a letter to the civic body for participating in the campaign to fight against it,” he added.
Dengue fever (DF) is a viral disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. DF causes severe, flu-like symptoms with high fever and extreme muscle and joint pain. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) are less common but more severe forms of the disease. DHF or DSS initially present with very similar symptoms to DF. The disease then progresses to a stage where the blood vessels become permeable causing a breakdown of the circulatory system, fluid loss, and possibly death, he said.
Dr Singh said, few people generally use mosquito repellents at night, but due to changes in climatic conditions, they must use it during the day hours too as the Aedes mosquito bites in the daytime too.
Speaking about the signs and symptoms of dengue a medical expert of heath department said, most people infected have found mild or no symptoms, about one among four people infected with dengue will get sick.
Mild symptoms of dengue may be confused with other illnesses that cause fever and flu-like illness, he said.
When the disease gets widespread, many private clinics start testing dengue. They generally do the NSI-slide test and show an alarming rate in increase of dengue. But that is not true. The Elisa test is the most accurate, and the slide test number dramatically drops when the Elisa test is done, said the medical expert.