BHUBANESWAR: Dengue menace is slowly spreading its tentacles in the State with the number of people testing positive for the vector-borne disease crossing the 100 mark. Sources in the State unit of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) on Sunday revealed that 103 dengue positive cases have been detected in 13 districts across State till June 16. The figure was 96 on June 15 and 86 the previous day.
Khurda district is the worst-hit with 50 dengue positive cases. As many as nine positive cases have been detected in Puri, eight each in Balasore and Rayagada, six in Jajpur, five in Cuttack, four each in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara, two each in Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak and Ganjam besides one in Nayagarh.
The Capital City is the most affected region in Khurda district with 47 dengue positive cases. The highest number of 35 cases has been reported from BDA and Chandrasekharpur areas while Nayapalli and IRC village have reported six cases. Besides, one positive case each has been reported from OSAP unit, Satya Nagar, Chandaka, Unit 3 and Unit 6 areas of the city. Notably, the State Capital had recorded the season’s first dengue death. The deceased, a 48-year-old woman of BDA Colony, succumbed to the disease while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.
In spite of the weak south-west monsoon, the growing number of dengue cases has raised concern among the citizens. NVBDCP officials said measures have been taken to provide free treatment to dengue affected persons.More should be done to make the public aware about the need of destroying breeding grounds of Mosquitoes during monsoon to check the spread of dengue, the officials added.
