Dengue stings Andhra Pradesh as rainwater stagnates

Dengue stings Andhra Pradesh as rainwater stagnates

Due to continuous rain, cases of malaria and dengue are on the rise in the State.

VIJAYAWADA: Due to continuous rain, cases of malaria and dengue are on the rise in the State. In just one week from August 3 to August 9, 154 cases were registered. While 610 dengue cases were registered till June this year, as many as 1,768 dengue and over 3,500 malaria cases were registered till August 9 and nearly half of those were in north coastal districts. In contrast, over 10,000 malaria and 840 dengue cases were registered by the end of July last year.

According to the Communicable Disease Spike Report in the CM’s CORE dashboard, over 100 dengue cases have been recorded every week since July 20. From July 20 to 26, 164 and from July 27 to August 2, 115 dengue cases were registered. Between August 3 and August 9, 154 dengue cases were registered in the State. In East Godavari district alone, 27 cases were reported officially within 10 days from August 1 to 10. From January to August 10 this year, a total of 95 cases were reported in the district.  

According to the statistics available with the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), till July 22 this year, the number of confirmed dengue cases were 1335. Similarly, the rise in malaria cases has also been high from the second week of July to August 9. According to NVBDCP, while till April 30 this year, 1578 confirmed malaria cases were recorded, the figure shot up to 3038 by June 30. Between July 13 and August 9, every week around 100 malaria cases were registered. The increase in viral fevers took place between July 13 and July 19, wherein 120 cases of malaria  and 180 cases of dengue were registered.

As far as malaria is concerned, more people in the coastal and remote regions are getting affected. On the other hand, dengue cases are reportedly more rampant in semi-urban areas, mainly due to lack of proper sanitation. Stagnation of rainwater is resulting in the growth of mosquitoes that cause malaria and dengue. The interior places of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Vizianagaram districts account for almost 50 percent of total malaria cases registered in the State. Large number of dengue cases have been reported from the urban and semi-urban areas of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, West Godavari and Vizianagaram districts.

The officials, however, have stated that no dengue or malaria related death case has been registered till date in the State. What has surprised many is that in spite of the health department officials holding awareness campaigns and launching mobile malaria and dengue clinics across the State, there has been a steep rise in cases of viral fevers. In fact, over 90 vehicles have been pressed into service as mobile malaria and dengue clinics in interior and rural areas. These mobile clinics became operational from July 1.

Apart from the mobile clinics, district-level health teams, to carry out active surveillance, treatment of malaria cases, control of mosquito  breeding points and health education activities in the community, were formed. State health officials stated that all the required medicines were available in the department for the control of malaria, dengue and chikungunya.

“We are conducting house-to-house medical checkups in all Agency and tribal villages of the State. As the monsoon is quite active and rains are occurring, the breeding of mosquitoes naturally will also take place. We suggest that people drink safe water and keep their areas clean,” said Dr T Padmaja Rani, DMHO, Krishna.

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