Dengue Scare Reaches Far And Wide In Odisha

The Dengue is back in headlines once again after few days of lull. But this time, the fear of the mosquito-borne viral disease has become a cause of concern for residents in far-off places and rural pockets like Malkangiri where the public still struggles to access proper healthcare.

Several cases of dengue in Chitrakonda, the district headquarters of Malkangiri is making the locals lose sleep. Residents of the area allege that the administration is not carrying out proper cleanliness drive due to which so many people in the area are falling sick.

“The authorities are not making sincere efforts in cleaning the drains or dumping the garbage properly. Local vendors are throwing wastes into drains leading to choking of sewers which subsequently become breeding places for pathogens-carrying vectors like mosquitoes,” said a local Muna Achari.

Describing the prevailing situation, Chitrakonda Medical Officer Dr Khirod Chandra Mohanta said, “Cases found infected with the viral disease are from outside. We have also sent the samples from suspected cases but the reports are yet to come out. Till then, we will carry out awareness among the locals through ASHA workers and sanitation works apart from vector control drive."

The situation is more or less the same in Gandapalli area under NAC Ward No 8 in Aska. Dengue scare has triggered panic in the area of Ganjam district for the first time this season after detection of the virus in a girl.

Residents of the region apprehend that if left unmanaged, the outbreak of the disease can go out of control.

After receiving reports, a medical team examined the situation in the ward and also created awareness among the locals about the precautionary measures to avoid getting infected by the virus.

“The visiting Health officials advised us to ensure cleanliness of our homes and surroundings with use of biological control agents like bleaching powder, mosquito nets while sleeping,” said a local resident Muna Das.

Addressing the newsmen, Health official Sujit Kumar Karji said, “We have found traces of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae at several places and disposed the sources. We have also collected some samples for further examinations. As of now there are no active patients but our team will continue to inspect the area for 7 more days."

Talking about the same, Aska NAC officer Prasanna Kumar Tete said, “We are organising proper sanitation programmes frequently and taking adequate measures at our level. Our next course of action will be according to the test results of the samples which are awaited.”

Meanwhile, in Bhubaneswar, which has become the biggest hotspot of the Dengue infection this year in the State, the administration has claimed that the outbreak situation has been arrested after timely intervention and appropriate control measures.

Latest official figures say that while the cumulative Dengue cases have surged above 1000 mark in the Capital city, more than 800 patients have already recovered from the disease.

The most challenging part in containing this disease has been reachability factor. We are often witnessing that if a member of a family gets infected with Dengue, he or she increases the chances of outbreak in the entire family. So our main target has been in curbing the clustering of cases. We have fairly well managed the situation and hope to continue it till the outbreak is completely controlled," said Ansuman Ratha, Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.