Wednesday, 17 May 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Health department has started a month-long awareness drive on dengue. In the campaign the employees of the department will visit different localities and make the people aware about dengue. The department will also hold source reduction activities during the period. On the occasion of the national dengue day on Tuesday, a seminar was organised at the State College of Nursing in Dehradun.
The programme was attended by principal of the college Dr R K Sharma, ASHA facilitators and students of the nursing college.
Speaking on the occasion the district vector borne diseases officer Subhash Joshi said that free Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) testing facilities is available in district hospital Dehradun, sub district hospital Rishikesh, sub district hospital Vikasnagar, community health centre (CHC) Raipur and Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital. The department has also set up isolation wards for the dengue patients.
Joshi said that last year a total of 1,434 patients of dengue were reported in Dehradun district. He claimed that no case of the disease has so far been reported from the district this year.
He said that a month-long ‘ dengue month’ would be observed from May 16 to June 16 in which people would be made aware about dengue and Chikungunya disease. He said that both these diseases are spread by female Aedes mosquitoes.
Dengue is a viral infection spread by the mosquito Aedes Aezypti popularly known as Tiger Mosquito. The symptoms of the disease are persistent high fever, rashes, headache and pain in the joints. In the acute cases the platelets number decreases drastically which may prove fatal for the patient. In Uttarakhand the disease is more prevalent in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts.
Ways to prevent Dengue
1. Don’t allow water to collect in and near houses.
2. Regularly decant fridges, coolers, pots or cans.
3. Spread kerosene or other oils on small water bodies which are effective to destroy the larvae of Aedes mosquito.
4. Inform district health authorities for fogging to kill mosquitoes.
5. Aedes strikes during day time and flies near ground level so wear full sleeved clothes at work places.
6. Immediately seek medical advice when someone develops fever.
