With 11 new cases, dengue tally reaches 60 in Noida

Eleven new cases of dengue were reported in Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday, taking the tally of such cases to 60 in the district, the highest in the last five years, said officials from the district health department

Eleven new cases of dengue were reported in Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday, taking the tally of such cases to 60 in the district, the highest in the last five years, said officials from the district health department. Seven of the 11 cases reported on Friday are currently taking treatment at various hospitals.

Noida had reported just 27 dengue cases last year. (HT Archive)

According to official data, the district reported 13 cases of dengue in 2017, 28 in 2018, 40 in 2019 and 27 cases in 2020.

Officials said the prevalence of the disease in Gautam Budh Nagar is lower than in nearby districts.

“While comparative data of the last five years shows that the district has maximum dengue cases this year, it is still better than nearby districts where the tally of dengue cases has breached the 300 mark. Compared to nearby districts like Ghaziabad or Meerut, Gautam Budh Nagar has been successful in controlling the outbreak of dengue. We are undertaking several measures with the help of authorities, nagar panchayat and nagar palika and conducting scheduled programmes and drives to eliminate larvae breeding spots. We are also focussing on the areas from where maximum dengue cases are being reported,” said Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

In the past one month, the district health department has found larvae at 30 places.

“While larvae was found at 30 places, 18 notices have been issued in the last 10 days to those establishments where mosquito larvae was found. Notices have been issued under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention and Control of Malaria, Dengue, Kala Azar and any Vector Borne Disease Regulations, 2016. According to the rules, the inspecting officer can issue a notice to the owner or the occupier of any place where water is found accumulating, which become harbours for mosquito breeding,” said Rajesh Sharma, district malaria officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

He added the department is continuing fogging and anti-larvae spraying drives in the district.

“Our health teams are screening densely populated localities in the district to eliminate any chances of mosquito breeding. Dengue is an urbanized disease; the mosquito causing the disease breeds indoors in artificial or man-made containers, hence our teams’ focus is on such areas. The teams are also going door-to-door to check for fever patients and taking their samples to test them for dengue and malaria,” added Sharma.

According to medical experts, the low number of dengue cases in Gautam Budh Nagar compared to nearby districts could be due to more awareness among the residents of the district.

“I believe people in Gautam Budh Nagar are more aware when it comes to sanitation and illnesses, which is why the number of dengue cases in the district are still under control. We also have fewer densely populated colonies or temporary settlements (slums), as compared to Ghaziabad, Hapur or Meerut, which helps in controlling the outbreak of dengue. However, Gautam Budh Nagar is the one of the most advanced medical hub in the region and it is possible that serious cases of dengue may be referred to here in the coming weeks,” said Dr N K Sharma, president of Indian Medical Association (Noida).

Meanwhile, the district has also reported one new case of scrub typhus from a private hospital in Noida, taking the tally of such cases to four. Two leptospirosis cases have also come to the fore.

“One new scrub typhus case and two leptospirosis have been reported from private hospitals in the district. All three patients have recovered. Currently, there are no active cases of the diseases in the district,” said Sharma.