Govt alert on Swine Flu, Dengue situation: Health Secretary

Bhubaneswar: There is no need to panic as Odisha government is taking all possible steps to tackle Swine Flu and dengue outbreak in State, said Health Secretary PK Meherda at a review meeting held here on Sunday.

Meherda informed that Swine Flu has claimed eight lives in Odisha so far while adequate measures are being taken to create awareness.

“There is no need to panic even though other parts of the country have reported spurt in positive cases and casualties. Most of the swine flu cases reported in Odisha are migration cases,” said Meherda.

Also Read: Swine flu toll rises to eight in Odisha

The health secretary further stated that vaccinations are only being given to doctors and other para medical staff engaged in the handling of swine flu patients. But general public is advised not to take vaccines without consulting doctors.

Throwing light on the dengue situation, he said 370 persons have been tested positive with two deaths reported so far this year. A total of eight people had died of dengue while nearly 4,000 positive cases were reported last year.

On the other hand highest number of dengue cases was reported from Bhadrak district. As per government records 47 persons have tested positive but unofficial sources claim there are 57 dengue patients. While 10 persons were afflicted with the virus in the district, rest 47 persons carried the virus from Mumbai, Surat and Bengaluru.

It has been alleged that the health department is not taking any curative measures to tackle the situation as a result of which the residents of the district are panicked.