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Amid receding Covid wave, dengue poses fresh challenge for Ludhiana health dept
The cases had surfaced in June and all three patients are undergoing treatment at private hospitals in the city. They include two women, aged 28 and 37, who are residents of Chander Nagar and Kailash Chowk area respectively, and a 55-year-old man who lives at Bhamia Road near Jamalpur area.
Amid the receding Covid-19 wave in the district, three new cases of dengue have put the health department on alert once again.
The cases had surfaced in June and all three patients are undergoing treatment at private hospitals in the city. They include two women, aged 28 and 37, who are residents of Chander Nagar and Kailash Chowk area respectively, and a 55-year-old man who lives at Bhamia Road near Jamalpur area.
District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh Bhagat said the trio had tested positive in the month of June following which teams swung into action to check and destroy the dengue larvae.
He said none of the patients have any travel history and all developed the fever indigenously.
As many as 1,809 confirmed cases of dengue had been reported in the district last year, while 2,516 people were suspected to have caught the disease. Of the total, as many as 1,353 were from Ludhiana city while 408 were patients from other districts.
Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Kiran Ahluwalia has issued an advisory and appealed to residents to stay alert as the season of dengue and chikungunya fever has started. She said residents must be careful and not let water stagnate in coolers, containers, nets behind the fridge, pots, rubbish on roofs etc. She also advised people to wear clothes that cover the body completely and make use of mosquito repellents nets at bedtime.
She further said in case of fever, people should go for paracetamol instead of aspirin or ibuprofen.
The civil surgeon revealed that suspected dengue fever patients have been shifted to sentinel surveillance hospitals of civil hospitals at Ludhiana, Khanna and Jagraon where patients can get free confirmation tests. Supportive treatment for dengue is provided free of cost by the health department. The health department has also started activities to prevent dengue and chikungunya fever, the civil surgeon said.
