BENGALURU: To closely monitor the dengue situation in the state and take up mitigation efforts to effectively tackle the spread of the disease, a dengue war room is being set up at the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare (Arogya Soudha). This apart, the BBMP and all districts will have control rooms to oversee the situation and gather data in their respective areas.
A district task force for dengue, led by the deputy commissioners and health and urban development officials, medical college representatives and NGOs, will also be formed. The task force will review control measures weekly and recommend necessary actions based on local needs.
The health department stated that a minimum of five beds in taluk hospitals and 8-10 beds in district hospitals will be reserved for dengue patients. All testing and treatment facilities, including ICU services, if necessary, will be provided free of charge to all dengue patients, regardless of their economic status, in healthcare facilities under the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
The department also mandated that every house should be inspected for mosquito breeding sites once a fortnight by ASHA workers and health staff, with volunteers assisting in urban areas. For this, volunteers will be compensated by urban local bodies with Rs 200 per day, the order stated and added that source reduction campaigns and awareness programmes on dengue prevention and treatment will take place every Friday.
The local bodies will ensure water distribution in the afternoon on the campaign day to help the public fill their storage containers again. District administrations and the BBMP should identify hotspots (areas with two or more dengue cases within a 100-metre radius) and report them to the war room.
“Efforts should focus on reducing hotspots through intensified source reduction, mass larvicide spraying and indoor fogging. Fever clinics should be activated in these areas, and mosquito repellent oils should be distributed to poor households,” the order said.
Health facilities have also been instructed to ensure sufficient stocks of testing kits, essential drugs and IV fluids, procuring locally as needed. Blood banks should maintain adequate supplies of platelets, fresh frozen plasma and other blood components, with regular updates on e-Rakt Kosh.
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