Gautam Budh Nagar: Health department on alert as district sees 140 dengue cases

The district reported 24 fresh dengue cases on Monday, of which 11 patients are under treatment at various hospitals, said officials on Tuesday

With 24 fresh dengue cases reported on Monday, of which 11 patients are under treatment at various hospitals in the district, the total tally in Gautam Budh Nagar reached 140 so far.

The health department is closely monitoring the dengue situation in the district, said Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer (CMO), Gautam Budh Nagar, on Tuesday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

The health department is closely monitoring the dengue situation in the district, said Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer (CMO), Gautam Budh Nagar, on Tuesday.

“A high number of dengue cases are reported in some villages of Jewar block and Nevada village of Dankaur block. The health department officials have been directed to investigate and carry out containment measures there,” said Dr Sharma.

Rajesh Sharma, district malaria officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the health department is conducting fogging and spraying anti-larvae medicines in the district. “Our health teams are screening densely populated localities to eliminate chances of mosquito breeding. We are carrying out testing in areas where fresh cases are being reported, and conducting extensive fogging and anti-larvae medicine spraying drives,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, the blood bank at Child PGI hospital has reported an increase in the demand for platelets. “The daily consumption of platelets at Child PGI hospital was five to six units till September, but the consumption has increased to 15-20 units per day in the past two weeks. Since the shelf-life of platelets is only 72 hours, it is very hard to maintain the inventory and we are able to satisfy 80% of the demand, there is still some shortage as the blood donations are to a bare minimum,” said Dr Satyam Arora, associate professor, Transfusion Medicine, adding that the department will hold blood donation camps in the district this month itself.

Trilok Sharma, founder trustee, Rotary Noida Blood Bank, said that the blood bank is getting at least 25-30 units. “Earlier, we had a demand of about five units of platelets a day, but it has increased to 25-30 units a day now. Since the shelf-life of platelets is low, for 20% of the demand, we have to ask the patients to bring donors and we provide platelets to the rest,” Sharma added.

The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), which also has a blood bank with a platelet facility, there’s a consumption of around five units per day, said the officials. “The hospital does not have critical dengue patients requiring platelets. The daily consumption of five units of platelets at the hospital is usual, and there has been no increase in the demand so far,” said Dr (Brigadier) Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS in Greater Noida.

The dengue patients admitted at the district hospital in Sector 30 have no need for platelets so far, said chief medical superintendent (CMS) Dr Sushma Chandra on Tuesday. “Dengue patients at our hospital are able to recover without being given platelets as they are not critical. So, we have not had any demand for the same,” she said.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly mentioned the total number of dengue cases in Gautam Budh Nagar.