Dengue spreads its tentacles in Patiala district, 10 cases in a week

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 17

With 10 new cases within a week, the deadly dengue has started to spread its tentacles in the district. The Health Department said dengue cases had already started to rise in the district over the past few days. Till now, 17 dengue cases had already been reported this season, the department added.

Of the 17 cases, 10 were reported from the urban area and seven from the countryside. Majority of positive cases were detected from Kallon Majra, Harpalpur, and Rajpur block. Besides, some cases were reported from Patiala city.

Some dengue positive patients required hospitalization. They were admitted to the Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital. The Patiala Civil Surgeon, Dr Prince Sodhi, said since symptoms of Covid and dengue were similar, therefore, people should get themselves tested if someone had fever.

The Health Department was providing free tests for dengue, Dr Sodhi added. “Today, we flagged off rickshaws for spreading awareness about dengue in the city. People should realise their responsibility and drain water from discarded items to avoid breeding of mosquitoes,” said Dr Sodhi.

Health officials informed that dengue cases were likely to rise because mosquito larvae were continuously being detected at households during the anti-dengue drive. They had detected and destroyed dengue larvae at 465 places during this week, health officials added. “Until now, dengue larvae have been detected at 5,000 places in this season,” said health officials.

Dr Sumeet Singh, district epidemiologist, said, “Though, the environment is conducive for dengue breeding, the situation is under control as of now. People should play an active role and keep checking their surroundings to stop breeding of mosquito larvae.”