Patiala district reports 40 dengue cases

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 3

Deadly dengue seems to be spreading in the district as 40 cases have already been reported from here.

Given the prevailing environment, which is conducive to breeding of mosquitoes, the Health Department believes that the threat of dengue looms large in the district.

Until now, 515 people were tested for dengue, of which 40 were found infected. Of the 40 cases, 15 are from the Rajpura block.

The Health Department said dengue larvae was found in 2,700 households. The Health Department said officials had already covered around 90 per cent of the population for dengue screening. However, community participation was a must to curb the dengue spread in district, the Health Department added.

Meanwhile, Dr Sumeet Singh, district epidemiologist, said people did not drain water from desert coolers and discarded utensils. “There has been a slight change in the temperature. Consequently, people have stopped using desert coolers. However, it has come to the fore during screening that people have not emptied their desert coolers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Patiala Civil Surgeon, Dr Harish Malhotra, said, “People should take dengue seriously, otherwise it could prove fatal. Just five minutes are required to drain out stagnant water. People should check their households and surroundings regularly.”