Combined efforts sought to combat Dengue in Twin City

Bhubaneswar: The detection of four dengue positive cases has now put the administrative officials in the Twin City of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on their toes to take preventive measures to contain the outbreak this monsoon season.

All the four cases have been reported from Bhubaneswar while already a provision for a dengue ward with eight beds made at Capital hospital.

"A medical team and a special ward to provide necessary treatment to patients have been made at the hospital which is a routine operation," said Capital Hospital Director, Manoranjan Das.

An emergency meeting was convened by Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Mayor to chalk out a strategy to combat the dengue menace in the city.

Chairman of CMC standing committee on public health, Ranjan Biswal informed that several key decisions including for a massive sanitation drive and desilting the drains were taken at the meeting.

"After the 2013 dengue outbreak, adequate steps were taken to create awareness among people in the city. Already there has been a considerable improvement in the scenario and adequate preventive steps are being taken this year also," said Biswal.

City Health officer, Umesh Chandra Panigrahi stated that a team of entomologists from Bhubaneswar would be engaged for destroying the dengue larvae in different wards.

"We have also urged people not to allow rain water to accumulate near their homes as the aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue only breed in clean water," said Panigrahi.