BHUBANESWAR: Panic has gripped Badabareni village in Khurda district after 18 persons including two from a family tested dengue positive in the last one week. The cases were recorded from one hamlet of the village.Though a team of health officials has been camping in Badabareni and treating the affected people besides undertaking cleanliness drive, people are living in fear as new cases of fever are being reported everyday.
On Thursday, Khurda CDMO Dr Bharat Bhusan Baral rushed to the village with a team of doctors and made a door-to-door visit. He assured that the camp will continue till the source reduction is completed.
With detection of at least 100 positive cases in a day on an average for the last one week, in the State, dengue has assumed alarming proportions in Odisha. So far, the State has reported 2,294 positive cases this season.
In fact, Odisha has reported thrice the cases of dengue reported during this time last year activating the health machinery to initiate prompt measures to prevent the disease from spreading further. What has pressed the panic button is the fact that 958 positive cases have been reported in 15 days. However, the fatality has been low as only three persons have died of dengue so far this season. As many as 643 persons were diagnosed with the disease and two died till August 29 last year.Barring Malkangiri and Jharsuguda, the disease has been reported from all other districts. Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Rayagada and Kalahandi are the worst-hit districts.
The alarming rise in positive cases has left health officials on tenterhooks. The State had registered 11 deaths and 8,380 cases in 2016, six deaths and 4,158 cases in 2017 and two deaths and 2,450 cases in 2015.Meanwhile, the affected districts have been asked to form separate medical teams to tackle dengue. The civic authorities have taken up a drive to drain out stagnant water along with fogging activities to kill larvae of aedes aegptyi, the mosquito that spreads dengue, Chikungunya and yellow fever.
Director of Health Services Dr BK Brahma said officials have been directed to launch anti-dengue drive by involving Anganwadi and Asha workers, sweepers and volunteers to destroy the larvae. People have been urged to use mosquito nets to prevent dengue and malaria, he added.