KOCHI: 2019 saw a spurt in the number of dengue cases with as many as 1,100 suspected and 392 confirmed cases being reported in the district. However, if the fever charts provided by the district administration are any indication, dengue is still ruling the roost. If the number of confirmed dengue cases in January 2019 was just one, this year the number is 10 with 52 suspected cases.
Since the start of February, already three suspected cases of dengue have been recorded in the district. But the district medical officer begs to differ. “The situation is under control,” said Dr N K Kuttappan, DMO. According to him, a lot of steps are being introduced to control the problem.
“There is no epidemic-like situation in the district. As soon as we came across the cases, steps like creating awareness among the residents and cleaning drives were started on a war footing,” said Dr Kuttappan. However, the cleaning drives and other initiatives have taken a back seat since the health workers have been roped in to tackle corona issue.
“The residents themselves can take care of the health issues caused by vectors like mosquitoes by keeping their surroundings clean. We have been time and again asking people to be vigilant. By preventing the accumulation of water in discarded vessels, the residents can thwart mosquito breeding,” he said. Meanwhile, Dr Kuttappan said, “Initiatives like fogging and spraying of insecticides are being undertaken. It has also been decided to spread awareness among residents about the need to keep the surroundings clean and free from accumulated water.”
According to him, health workers who recently conducted door-to-door awareness drive found stagnant water on the roofs, on sunshades and in broken discarded vessels in many areas. The dengue cases this year were reported from Kuttampuzha and Kathrikadav.