With nearly 8,000 positive dengue cases reported in the State from January till date, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has deputed a Central team of experts to Karnataka to review the outbreak and to provide technical assistance to stem the spread.
The three-member team, led by P.K. Srivastava, Joint Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), includes Manish Soneja, Associate Professor (Internal Medicine) from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Saurabh Goel, Deputy Director (Epidemiology), National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, said Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare). The team that arrived in the city on Thursday will visit the most-affected districts on Friday and Saturday to review the prevention and control measures initiated by the State Health Department. The team will submit a report on its recommendations to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Karnataka’s dengue figures are the third highest in the country after Kerala and Tamil Nadu where 16,000 and 9,500 cases respectively have been reported this year. Karnataka’s figures in the corresponding period last year were half the number reported this year.
B.G. Prakash Kumar, Deputy Director, NVBDCP, Karnataka, said the highest number of cases have been reported in south Karnataka region. “This is because of the proximity of the districts in this region to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. “Most people travel to and from these States to Karnataka and hence the infection has spread rampantly,” he said.
He said the Information, Education, and Communication have been intensified across the State. Auxiliary nurse midwives, male health workers, and accredited social health activists are encouraging people to use mosquito nets when sleeping outdoors and spraying and fogging has been going on regularly, he said.
Bengaluru city has reported the highest number of cases (2,629) and the city hospitals are flooded with patients.
Most hospitals have been reporting bed shortage and patients are being accommodated in wards of all specialities. Doctors said the disease was spreading at an alarming rate and they had been noticing a “significant surge” in cases. The disease-causing aedes aegypti mosquito breeds in fresh water and bites during the day.
