26 districts in grip of dengue

Dengue outbreak in the State has gripped 26 districts with situation turning alarming in Khurda, Angul and Jajpur besides Cuttack even as authorities continue to muzzle the death toll which, according to unofficial sources, has gone up to seven.
26 districts in grip of dengue

Dengue outbreak in the State has gripped 26 districts with situation turning alarming in Khurda, Angul and Jajpur besides Cuttack even as authorities continue to muzzle the death toll which, according to unofficial sources, has gone up to seven.

While the Government has officially acknowledgedone death from Angul till date, two other persons fromthe district are reported to have succumbed at the SCB Medical College and Hospital here but are yet to be confirmed by the authorities.

With the death of one Prafulla Behera and another Dhrubaswarup Swain of Jarasingha village in Angul district at the special dengue ward of SCBMCH raising a furore, the Medical Board headed by HoD of Medicine Prof CBK Mohanty on Thursday held a review meeting on both the cases but was not forthcoming on the cause.

In a report submitted to the Health and Family Welfare Department, Prafulla Behera has been cited to have tested positive for dengue but he was also suffering from other complications like septicaemia while Dhruba tested negative and succumbed to malaria.

“The report is inconclusive about the cause of deaths. The team of doctors has been asked to thoroughly examine the cases and give a final report,” Health Secretary PK Mohapatra said.

The total number of dengue positive cases, meanwhile, has gone up to 2213 in the State on Thursday with Khurda (mainly Bhubaneswar) accounting for the highest number at 40, followed by Angul at 32, Cuttack at 17, Jajpur at 12 and Dhenkanal at nine.

Studying the trends of dengue this year, experts stated that the outbreak is more pronounced in the urban areas and industrial belts. Apart from major urban centres of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the concentration of cases in Angul district has been found to be in the industrial and colliery areas.

The outbreak in Dhenkanal has also been reported to be confined to the industrial belt of the district. However in Jajpur,  cases are concentrated in the rural pockets of Bari block.

“While waterlogging in the industrial areas and collieries are major factors in Angul and Dhenkanal districts, in Jajpur the situation has been found to have been bred by the collection of water in post-bamboo harvest areas. Health officials along with district administration and departments concerned in all the districts have been instructed to intensify sanitation and larvicidal operations along with awareness generation measures,” State nodal officer for disease surveillance Dr MM Pradhan said.

In 2011, Angul district had reported as many as 25 deaths due to dengue with around 1000 affected.

However, the lessons have not been learnt as this year too dengue has raised its ugly head with already three deaths and around 300 positive cases till date.

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