The West Bengal government has ramped up efforts to tackle the dengue menace as cases are rising rapidly in several districts, especially after the onset of monsoon.
While the state government has not shared any data, health department officials put the number of dengue cases reported since January this year at over 3,000. At least five people have died in Kolkata hospitals in the last one week due to the disease.
This is, however, less compared to last year. Some pockets in Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly have seen a sudden rise in cases. Data available with the National Centre for Vector Bourne Diseases Control shows that in 2022, West Bengal registered 67,271 cases and 30 deaths, the highest in the country, followed by Bihar (13,972).
“The chief secretary held a meeting with various departments and district administrations on Thursday to take stock of the preparedness,” said a senior official of the state health department.
Separate fever clinics are operating round the clock in various hospitals with a high caseload. Vector control activities, including house to house survey and drone surveillance, have started in all 129 civic bodies and 1.32 lakh workers have been deployed across the state for vector control activities.
“Districts are being supplied with fish which feed on mosquito larvae. More than 600 rapid response teams have bene kept ready for urgent mitigation of larvae in urban areas. Efforts are being made to step up testing. Dengue testing is being done at 160 government hospitals,” said a senior health official present in the meeting held on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}“Districts are being supplied with fish which feed on mosquito larvae. More than 600 rapid response teams have bene kept ready for urgent mitigation of larvae in urban areas. Efforts are being made to step up testing. Dengue testing is being done at 160 government hospitals,” said a senior health official present in the meeting held on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier this week, Kolkata deputy mayor Atin Ghosh told media persons that the civic body will write to the state government to set up testing centres at entry points for those arriving from Bangladesh.
The neighbouring country too has witnessed a rapid surge in dengue cases this monsoon. At least 200 people have died and more than 37,000 have been infected with the virus there, media reports suggested.
“Dengue observer teams will start visiting high caseload hospitals for supportive supervision. Around 9,000 doctors and para medical staff have been trained in case management of dengue patients,” said the official.