2 suspected dengue deaths in Mohali dist

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 28

Two more suspected dengue deaths have been reported from Mohali district. While a patient died of suspected dengue at a private hospital in Mohali, another patient from Zirakpur, Bhupinder Singh (43), died of suspected dengue at the PGI. If confirmed, the district toll will climb to eight. Besides, 45 fresh cases of dengue were reported from Chandigarh, 44 from Mohali and seven from Panchkula today. The total number of dengue cases reported from the tricity and the surrounding areas has reached 1,285. 

Dengue helpline: 9779558282

Chandigarh also reported four new cases of chikungunya, taking the total number of cases in the city to 35 of which seven are imported, eight are “wrong address” and 20 are said to be residents of Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, with the rapidly increasing number of dengue cases in the tricity, the health authorities of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula have gone into an overdrive, conducting intensive surveillance drives.

Dr Gaurav Aggarwal, anti-malaria officer, UT, said the anti-malaria wing of the UT Health Department today conducted a surveillance drive at New Colony, Dhanas, where six challans were issued to habitual defaulters for maintaining “mosquitogenic conditions”. This brings the total number of challans to 46, along with 50 show-cause notices and 3,294 notices.

Dr Ranjit Kaur Guru, Civil Surgeon, Mohali, said a joint meeting of health officials from the district was held and a decision taken to further strengthen and intensify dengue-preventive activities. She said daily fumigation was being carried out across the district along with creating mass awareness and checking of breeding sources such as coolers, containers and tyres.

“Larvicidal spray is done in all houses in areas from where dengue cases or deaths are reported,” said Dr Guru, adding that a fever OPD was running at the Mohali Civil Hospital and a special testing facility had been set up so that patients did not have to wait to get tests done.

Meanwhile, the Panchkula Health Department has announced that “platelet isolation” is free for EWS patients while for the rest, the cost is Rs 8,500.

Free testing 

Free dengue-testing facility is available at the Department of Virology, PGI, the Department of Microbiology, GMCH-32 and GMSH-16, and the District Priority Lab (IDSP) at the Civil Hospital, Mani Majra.