LUCKNOW: After playing havoc in Firozabad and Mathura and other adjoining districts, the menace of dengue and viral fever is now expected to expand to eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh in the aftermath of widespread rains and floods.
After floodwaters of Ganga and Yamuna receded in the Sangam City of Prayagraj, the place has now become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. So far, around three dozen cases of dengue have been confirmed in the city with 22 in urban areas and 12 in rural areas. Of these, more than a dozen patients have been discharged while the rest are being treated at different government and private hospitals.
According to the health authorities, the situation in Prayagraj was under control and no casualty due to dengue or viral fever was reported so far. “There are no deaths due to dengue as of now. Isolation wards are available at hospitals for the treatment of dengue patients and medicine had also been arranged for.
Along with this, the blood banks have also been asked to be ready if platelets are needed and people are being made aware of the importance of cleanliness. They are being asked to check mosquito breeding in and around their houses to keep dengue at bay,” said Additional CMO Dr Satyendra Rai.
He claimed that a survey of 200 houses had been conducted in the Govindpur area of Teliarganj, where mosquito larvae were found in 80 houses.
A total of 9,000 mosquito nets had also been ordered in the district for below poverty line cardholders, he added.
According to a government report, 497 cases of fever were reported in Uttar Pradesh during the last 24 hours. Of this, dengue has been confirmed in 409 cases while the remaining 66 cases are suspected and, in 22 cases, the cause behind fever is not yet clear.
After Mathura, Firozabad, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Basti, and Meerut districts, there is a concern over the spread of dengue in Prayagraj. But experts said it was an all-weather infection and nothing new.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to reserve beds equipped with oxygen facilities and dedicated to COVID-19 patients for the treatment of viral diseases including dengue.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued instructions to authorities concerned to make sure that patients received the best of treatment, and that there was no dearth of medicine and other medical equipment.
Besides, the state authorities would be launching sanitation and cleanliness campaigns across the state from September 5 to curb the threat of water and vector-borne diseases.