121 cases of dengue keep officials on their toes

Bathinda, August 26

Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, conducted a meeting with health officials and doctors over dengue and maintained that confirmation report of yjr MAC Eliza and NS1 Eliza tests from the Civil Hospital would only be rendered as authentic.

On Tuesday, about 16 new patients were confirmed for dengue thus taking the total number of patients to 121 in the Bathinda district, which is highest in Punjab. Most of the patients, tested on Friday, were from Goniana town of the Bathinda district while some others were from other parts of Bathinda district.

Health officials, however, are claiming to have creating awareness about the precautions and symptoms of dengue among the masses.

On Tuesday, Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, also conducted an inspection over the entire hospital, including the dengue ward, where the patients were admitted and under treatment.

Dr Tejwant Singh Randhawa, Civil Surgeon, said, “The figure of patients is not much as there is a rumour in the market. We conducted a meeting today with doctors over the dengue menace. None of the suspected patients would be confirmed for dengue from any private hospital or laboratory until and unless the reports are confirmed from the Civil Hospital about the dengue patients. There is no need to panic but people should only take precautions of dengue.”

On Tuesday, about 19 suspected patients had undergone test for the MAC ELIZA and the NS1 ELIZA out of which, 16 were tested positive for dengue. The number of patients reached to 121. Last week, about 14 people were confirmed with dengue whereas earlier too about 12 patients were reported positive with dengue.

“Pamphlets are being distributed among people while our teams are conducting regular surveys door-to-door in the district to find out the larva besides conducting the follow-ups of the patients and awareness. In a follow-up of dengue patient, the teams of health officials move to the house to find out the dengue larva and spray over it along with disseminating the information about the awareness about the precautions and symptoms of dengue,” said, Bathinda Epidemiologist Dr Rajpal.

Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include sudden, high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, skin rash, which appears three to four days after the onset of fever, mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising). The Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds primarily in man-made containers like open-water storage drums, discarded plastic food containers or any item that collects water. People should remove these containers or cover them with a lid or sand or spray appropriate chemicals. To reduce exposure at home, measures like nets, barrier creams, aerosols and repellents can be used besides adequate clothing, especially for children during the day. — TNS