As many as 1000 cases of dengue fever have been reported in the State since January this year, out of which, the Capital city of Bhubaneswar accounts for a maximum of 714 patients.
Director, Public Health, Dr Niranjan Mishra today said that dengue cases started increasing in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area since last month.
"At least 30 to 40 cases are being reported every day in Bhubaneswar. The test for dengue should be conducted by ELISA method for accurate detection," he said.
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However, some private hospitals are conducting the examinations through cards ( Rapid Antigen Detection Card) which often show false positive, he added.
These hospitals can send blood samples to the Capital Hospital or RMRC for testing, he maintained.
The Government has also made arrangements for dengue tests at all Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in urban areas, he said.
Speaking on the Covid scenario in the State, Mishra said the situation in Odisha is under control now. "States like Kerala are reporting a surge in Covid cases. There is no need to panic in our State in anticipation of future situation," he said.
“We are well prepared with the necessary infrastructure. There is a need to keep our infrastructure ready keeping in mind the next six months,” Mishra pointed out.
He said there was no need to worry if the rate of infection came under control in next six months.
“Odisha is showing an improvement in the Covid situation with decline in single-day cases every day,” he said.
The active cases have declined below 12,000. The cases of hospitalisation have also drastically decreased.
The situation in Khurdha is also stable now. The number of patients seeking medical assistance has also decreased in the district, he claimed.
The top health official attributed the high case fatalities in Khurdha to the large number of hospitals in the district.
Odisha reported 1096 new Covid cases. Khurdha with 389 positives alone accounted for more than one third of the new cases.
Similarly, the State registered 64 fresh fatalities due to the contagious virus on Saturday.