Dengue spike: Deputy CM orders special drive in Ghaziabad’s municipal wards

Starting Friday, officials of the health department and councillors of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation will engage in simultaneous fogging and anti-larvae exercises in all 100 municipal wards, on the directions of deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak, who arrived in the city on Thursday to review health facilities in Ghaziabad

Starting Friday, officials of the health department and councillors of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation will engage in simultaneous fogging and anti-larvae exercises in all 100 municipal wards, on the directions of deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak, who arrived in the city on Thursday to review health facilities in Ghaziabad.

Ghaziabad, India - November 10, 2022: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak visited the Combined District Hospital in Sanjay Nagar Sector 23 to meet patients admitted in the dengue ward, in Ghaziabad, india, on Thursday, November 10, 2022. (Photo by Sakib Ali/ Hindustan Times)

Pathak took stock of the rise in dengue cases in Ghaziabad and directed the health officials to make every possible effort to bring down the number of cases.

According to the district health department, till Wednesday night, the district registered 662 dengue cases with a majority of them emerging from Sahibabad (87 cases), Makanpur, Indirapuram (82 cases), Vijay Nagar (67 cases), Dasna (32 cases) and Maharajpur (68 cases). This year’s tally is the second highest in nine years, said officials.

The figures also include 155 cases that emerged in first nine days of November and 144 cases of children below the age of 14 years.

Of the total 662 cases, 558 were diagnosed in private hospitals and the rest in government facilities.

“After reviewing the dengue situation, I have directed that teams from the health department, corporation and public representatives move out to 100 residential wards across the city in a simultaneous manner from 6am on Friday and take up comprehensive fogging and anti-larvae activities in households. They will also take help from the civil defence. This activity will be taken up on war footing in order to eradicate mosquito larvae,” Pathak said.

He added that four mobile vans equipped with pathologists, doctors and nurses will move to the affected clusters and take up comprehensive testing of residents.

“A high number of dengue cases has been reported from the districts of Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Aligarh, Lucknow and Ghaziabad. However, the situation is under control. The officials in Ghaziabad will also find out if the anti-larvae medicine is mixed in the required proportion and if needed, the proportion may be further increased to get the desired effect,” Pathak added.

“As directed, all departments concerned will make coordinated efforts from Friday morning to eradicate larvae and mosquitoes in the 100 wards. The activity will be taken up in a simultaneous manner so as to have the maximum impact on vector population. We have a meeting scheduled with all departments on Thursday night to chalk out a strategy and to decide the number of days for which the special drive will be held,” said Dr Bhavtosh Shankhdhar, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad.

Pathak during his review has also directed that doctors in community health centres and at the district hospitals avoid the practice of referring patients to other cities.

“The directions have been given in this regard. If there is a genuine need to refer patients, the officials concerned will maintain a register at the community health centre and the district hospital and will mention the reason for the reference. This will help us improve our facilities. In case there is no reason assigned, action will follow,” Pathak said.