Beware of dengue as mercury rises

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 9

The temperature is rising and has reached 34.4°C in Ludhiana and as the summer heat is here, so are mosquitoes. Two cases of dengue have been detected in the district so far, putting the health department on its toes to tackle the vector-borne disease.

Anti-larvae teams of the department have also sprung into action with the detection of dengue cases. Eighteen teams are in the field doing door-to-door surveys and destroying the larvae wherever they are found. Teams have found larvae at 25 places so far.

Civil Surgeon Jasbir Singh has urged the city residents to keep their surroundings clean and to not let water stagnate in and around their houses. “Prevention is better than cure and people should adopt all the necessary precautions against the vector-borne disease,” he said.

Private hospitals have been alerted to make necessary arrangements and have been asked to inform the Health Department whenever any positive patient is reported. Patients can get the test for detecting dengue at the civil hospital, sub-divisional hospitals at Khanna and Jagraon, free of cost. From May the test will be available at Raikot Civil Hospital.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito. There are four distinct serotypes of the dengue virus. Symptoms appear in 3–14 days (average 4–7 days) after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults.

Places where larvae were found

Abdullapur Basti, Dana Mandi, Field Gunj, Kundanpuri, Santokh Nagar, Gopal Nagar, Punjab Mata Nagar, Ram Nagar,ISBT, Mustaqgunj, Dhandari Kalan, Fauji Colony, CRP Colony, Dashmesh Nagar, Railway Colony, Shimlapuri, Ranjit Nagar, Jawaddi, Labour Colony, Hargobind Nagar, Patel Nagar, Nanak Nagar and Tilak Nagar.

Symptoms of dengue

The symptoms of dengue include high fever, severe headaches, joint and muscle pain, vomiting, skin rashes and mild bleeding.

Precautions

• Mosquito repellent and creams should be used.
• Anti-mosquito spray should be used daily, especially behind curtains and below tables.
• Water from pots kept in drawing rooms should be changed weekly and scrubbed from their bottom.
• Don’t keep uncovered utensils, pots, tyres etc. on the roof top or in the open.
• Don’t allow fresh water to be stored near houses.
• Utilise mosquito nets if need be.

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