The death of four children owing to suspected dengue in the span of 10 days in Mysore district has kept the health authorities on their toes.
The suspected outbreak appears to be serious at D. Salundi village in Mysore taluk since all four children who died belonged to the village.
Also, 14 other children, who were being treated for suspected dengue at the JSS Hospital here, also hail from the village. There are also reports of suspected dengue in H.D. Kote and Hunsur taluks.
Though the health authorities here are yet to confirm whether the deaths were due to dengue, they have opened a temporary health centre and deputed health workers, including medical officers and nursing staff, to D. Salundi to screen patients and provide symptomatic treatment in suspected cases. District Health Officer (DHO) Male Gowda told The Hindu that four children died due to suspected dengue. The first death occurred on May 13, the second on May 18, and the last two deaths on May 23.
Dr. Gowda gave the names of the dead as Sushmita (2), daughter of Beerappa; Preetham (6), son of Ningappa; Yashaswini (5), daughter of Nagaraj, and Ravichandra (6), son of Prakash. The children did not respond to treatment and died in private hospitals in Mysore.
The DHO said 14 other children from the village were being treated at the JSS Hospital and their blood samples had been collected for conducting the tests. “The Health Department is on alert and has taken all measures to prevent the spread of the fever,” he said.
Dr. Gowda said a door-to-door survey had been launched at D. Salundi by a team of health professionals to identify cases, if any, and begin treatment.
The DHO said many residents had stored water in containers and this served as the breeding ground for mosquitoes. The containers were emptied and the villagers were told to do so. “As the children are at home because of the summer vacations, most cases involve them,” Dr. Gowda explained.
He said fogging had been taken up at the village (which comes under Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency) and the residents were being educated to keep their surroundings clean.
The DHO said medicines had been provided at the temporary health centre and the surveillance team had been directed to be on alert.
Suspected dengue cases had been reported in other parts of the district. Three cases at Masaralla village in H.D. Kote taluk and one at a village in Hunsur taluk had been reported. “Teams have also been sent there,” the DHO said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha and Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Deve Gowda on Friday visited D. Salundi and reviewed the steps taken by the Health Department. The Deputy Commissioner later held a meeting of tahsildars, executive officers of urban local bodies and gram panchayat authorities and issued directions to them.
