Dengue, malaria up in Noida, Uttar Pradesh health dept takes stock

The team, led by Dr Sachin Vaish, joint director, directorate of Medical Health and Services, also checked preparedness for handling fever cases and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria in the district

A team of the Uttar Pradesh health department on Monday took stock of a door-to-door surveillance carried out in Gautam Budh Nagar from September 7 to 16, said officials.

As per the Gautam Budh Nagar district malaria officer, Rajesh Sharma, regular anti-larvae fogging drives are being carried out across the district. (HT Photo)

The team, led by Dr Sachin Vaish, joint director, directorate of Medical Health and Services, also checked preparedness for handling fever cases and vector borne diseases like dengue and malaria in the district, they added. The move came after several people died of fever in nearby districts.

“We have inspected the work of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) that are conducting door-to-door surveys to screen the fever cases. Fever cases are screened for the detection of dengue and malaria, according to the symptoms... I also made surprise visits to primary health centres in Barola, Mamura and Hoshiarpur to check medicine stock, anti-larvae fogging activities and the preparedness to handle the fever cases,” said Dr Vaish.

Dr Vaish has submitted his findings and recommendations in a report to the district chief medical officer, Sunil Kumar Sharma, following the Monday inspection. “The inspection results were satisfactory but some improvements are required, which have been submitted to the CMO. We will also conduct another inspection on Tuesday. The district is fully equipped to handle fever cases, and we are sure we won’t see a similar situation as in nearby districts,” he added.

As per the district malaria officer, Rajesh Sharma, regular anti-larvae fogging drives are being carried out across the district. “The district has been receiving heavy rainfall for the past few days, which increases the chances of vector borne diseases. The transmission period for the same will continue till October. Hence, anti-larvae fogging activities are being carried out across the district to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. So far, the district has reported 24 malaria cases and no dengue cases,” he said.

Dr Sharma, meanwhile, said, “The report submitted by the inspection team will be taken into account... We are fully prepared to handle such fever cases. A rapid response team and a control room has been set up at the Sector 30 district combined hospital and all the seven health centres in the district -- Community Health Centre (CHC) Bhangel, CHC Bisrakh, CHC Badalpur, CHC Dadri, CHC Dadha, CHC Jewar and Primary Health Centre Dankaur -- to report cases of viral fever and take immediate action. All these are equipped with dengue and malaria testing facilities and have child health specialists as well.”