VIJAYAWADA: An 83 per cent spike in dengue cases was registered as Andhra Pradesh recorded 2,819 cases of break-bone fever in 31 weeks between January 1 and August 6 in comparison to 1,543 cases during the same period last year.
A total of 6,380 dengue cases were reported between January 1 and December 31 in 2022. The surge in cases has been observed particularly in the urban areas of Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.
According to an official report from the Directorate of Public Health, Visakhapatnam recorded the highest of 534 cases. Kurnool recorded a 389% spike as dengue cases in the district surged to 249 cases in 2023 from 64 in 2022. Speaking to TNIE, Director of Public Health Dr Vemireddy Ramireddy attributed the spike in dengue cases to improved testing methods and better data collection practices.
Stating that the current measures allow for a more accurate representation of the prevalence of the disease, the health official explained, “Starting this year, we have ensured that rapid tests are available at Village Health Clinics (VHCs), including PHCs (Primary Healthcare Clinics) and UHCs (Urban Healthcare Centres), while confirmatory tests are being carried out at 54 designated surveillance hospitals, comprising teaching, district, and selective area hospitals.”
Elaborating, he said private hospital data is also being integrated into the count of dengue cases from this year.“Private hospitals are required to upload cases of diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, typhoid, tuberculosis (TB), and rabies onto the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). This aggregation has led to a higher case count compared to the previous year,” he added.
In a bid to curb the rise in dengue cases, the State government has taken proactive measures, including implementing surveillance through a Vector Hygiene App in collaboration with the Health, Panchayat Raj, and Municipal administration departments.
Further, the ‘Friday dry day’ programme has been launched, while fogging and focal spraying are also done around 50 houses whenever a case is reported in any area.