With the district reporting 102 dengue cases in the current season, the Health Department has sprung into action and started issuing challans to those houses where they find dengue larvae again. They have also asked people to take precautions to keep the disease at bay.
Except for three positive cases reported in the month of March, the rest cases were reported in the months of June, July and August. The district Health Department teams constituted under dengue control programme have issued challans to 380 people at whose residences dengue larvae were detected during inspection.
Sources in the Health Department stated that a majority of (86) cases were reported in August. A senior official of the department said, “People are so careless that teams found dengue larvae again in some houses during the follow-up visit, though challans were issued to them during the first visit.”
The official said private hospitals had been asked to notify the Health Department in case they have a dengue patient. He said the dengue larvae mostly breed in flower pots, junk kept in the open, etc.
The Health Department has advised general public to keep such items clean and empty, which can hold water once in a week and change water in air coolers frequently. Experts have also advised people to use precautions such as apply mosquito repellent creams or cover body properly during the daytime to avoid mosquito bites.
The symptoms of disease include high grade fever above 102°F , headache, pain in eyes, general body pains, vomiting, skin rashes, which must be monitored for seven to 10 days by medical experts. The medical practitioners say that there is no particular medicine for dengue and the patient is treated symptomatically. However, prevention is the best option to avoid the disease.
The residents can pour burnt mobile oil or insecticides in ponds or vacant plots near their homes where rainwater gets accumulated and becomes a breeding-ground for mosquitoes.
The Health Department states that the Mac-Elisa test for dengue is recognised by the government for confirming a dengue case. It is conducted free of cost at the Government Medical College laboratory.
Symptoms
The symptoms of the disease include high grade fever above 102°F, headache, pain in eyes, general body pains, vomiting, skin rashes, which must be monitored for 7 to 10 days by medical experts
Dos
- Always keep overhead tanks properly covered
- Drain out water from coolers and scrub these dry once a week
- In case of fever, get your blood examined at the earliest
- Take full treatment if infected
Don’ts
- Do not allow water to stagnate in and around your house
- Do not throw discarded containers, tyres, pitchers and pots on the rooftop
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/amritsar/surge-in-dengue-cases-keeps-health-department-on-toes-in-amritsar-district-305918