Odisha administration on toes to fight dengue sting

Detection of five dengue positive cases in Rourkela city and one from Nuagon block has put the Sundargarh district administration on its toes to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
Dengue (AP file Image for representation)
Dengue (AP file Image for representation)

ROURKELA: Detection of five dengue positive cases in Rourkela city and one from Nuagon block has put the Sundargarh district administration on its toes to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

Sources said one dengue positive case was reported from Hathibari of Nuagaon block in July. In the same month, another positive case was reported from Sector-1 in the City. Four more cases were detected in CISF Colony and Sectors 5, 13 and 20 in the last week of August.

District Programme Manager of National Health Mission Deepak Mohanty said all the six patients had recent migratory history and contracted the disease away from their current places of stay.

National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) sources said excluding the Hathibari case, the rural pockets of the district are free from dengue menace. The usual vector-borne disease control programmes are underway in these areas. They also informed that in the third week of August, blood samples of 12 persons were collected from a village near Laing in Rajgangpur block on dengue suspicion, but all tested negative.

The captive township of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is a vulnerable area as despite detection of five positive cases, no visible dengue prevention action has been taken up by RSP so far, the sources said.  
Additional District Urban Health Officer (ADUHO) Dr Pushpamitra Mishra claimed that Auxiliary Nursing Midwives and ASHA workers are undertaking door-to-door visit and educating people in areas under Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) and RSP limits on prevention of dengue.  

RMC Health Officer Dr B Mishra claimed that bush cutting and application of mosquito larvicide oil are underway in RMC limits. Fogging is advisable after outbreak of dengue. Since Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are responsible for the disease breed inside houses and their campuses, fogging would not help, he said.
NVBDCP sources further informed that Rourkela ADM is scheduled to hold a review meeting on dengue prevention on Monday.

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