No relief for doctors as dengue cases spiral

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 19

Before health workers could breathe a sigh of relief in the wake of downward turn being witnessed with respect to Covid cases, a sudden spike in dengue and malaria cases has health officials back on their toes.

Rising infections

As per the records of the Health Department, this year, as many as 416 dengue cases have been reported in Bathinda and Mansa districts, with 199 cases in Bathinda and the remaining in Mansa

There seems to be no respite in the offing for the workers, who have been slogging beyond their working hours to make up for the staff crunch.

As per the records of the Health Department, as many as 416 dengue cases have been reported in Bathinda and Mansa districts this year, with 199 cases in Bathinda and the remaining in Mansa.

With more than 65 staff members having retired in Bathinda recently, the existing staff members are sharing the added burden.

A senior Health Department official said in Mansa, the actual number of dengue cases outweighed the number of cases recorded by the officials. The department needed to take adequate measures to curb the spread of dengue in the district, he said.

Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, said, “A total of 199 dengue cases have been reported in Bathinda district so far. We are trying to utilise our workforce and available resources optimally so that both Covid and dengue spread are brought under check effectively. The higher authorities have started the recruitment process after we apprised them about the problem.”

He said residents of the district, especially those living in urban areas, needed to take precautionary measures and not let water get accumulated, as maximum cases had been reported from the urban areas.