Tuesday, 19 July 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The State Health department has come into an active mode to prevent the spread of dengue in the state. The teams of the Health department have started visiting the localities which traditionally have been prone to the disease. On the orders of the chief secretary S S Sandhu, the director general (DG) of State Health services Dr Shailja Bhatt had recently asked all chief medical officers (CMOs) to remain in alert mode on dengue. The health department has also directed the CMOs to undertake a dengue sanitation campaign and prepare a block wise micro plan against the disease.
The district vector borne diseases officer of Dehradun, Subhash Joshi said that the team of the health department visited the office of District Magistrate, residence of Senior Superintendent of Police and many localities of Raipur and Dalanawala on Monday. He said that teams found larvae of dengue spreading mosquitoes at many places following which they were destroyed. Joshi said that source reduction activity and awareness campaign against the disease is being undertaken by the department.
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. Rainy season is most conducive for rapid growth of mosquitoes which can lay about 1200 eggs at a time and 400 -500 larvae can emerge from these eggs that take a week’s time to hatch. The mosquito infected with virus thus can increase its number exponentially infecting large numbers of people in a short span of time.
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 any other oil on the small water bodies to destroy the larvae of the Aedes mosquito.
4. Inform the district authorities for fogging to kill mosquitoes.
5. Since 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.
