Dengue, which had gripped the city for over three months (June, July and August), seems to be under control since September as only 54 positive cases were reported in September, as against 160 in August, 225 in July, and 236 in June. This dip is being attributed mainly to continuous rain in the city in September.
District Vector Borne Diseases Control officer S. Chidambar told The Hindu that incidence of dengue is under control in Mysuru. He said the number of dengue cases has come down because of the rain and increased awareness among people about the disease.
He said if there had been intermittent rains with humidity, incidence of dengue as well as other vector-borne diseases may have escalated in the district. Over 3,890 cases were reported till the end of September from January this year, Mr. Chidambar said, adding that most of them were reported in June, July, and August .
Of the 3,890 cases, 759 tested positive. These 759 samples tested positive in the ELISA test. According to the tests conducted by private hospitals under different methods, the number of dengue positive persons was more than 3,200. However, the Health Department does not recognise the other tests conducted by private hospitals.
Two dengue deaths
More than 20 suspected dengue deaths were referred to the district dengue death audit committee, which subsequently certified that only two were owing to the disease. Besides this, over 26 people died in the district during the year, particularly during June, July, and August, owing to fever-related diseases.
It may be recalled here that thousands of people had developed fever in Mysuru district and got admitted to hospitals, including private ones. The State-run KR Hospital was forced to convert its special rooms into general wards in the wake of huge rush.
Tests negative
The Health Department was puzzled after many people, who exhibited symptoms of dengue, tested negative for dengue, chikungunya, and other vector-borne diseases. So it sent samples to the Department of Virus Research, Manipal, and the National Institute of Virology, Pune, to examine the presence of any uncommon virus that was spreading fever. But the state of things appears to have improved now.
