The district is in the grip of dengue with 461 positive cases reported in 2017, including 150 positive cases in the past two months.
The urban and semi-urban areas in the district have remained the worst affected. A total of 140 cases were reported from Shivamogga city and 95 from Bhadravati.
Rajesh Suragihalli, District Health Officer, told The Hindu that the delay in onset of monsoon this year, extremely hot and humid climate that prevailed till third week of August and the acute shortage of drinking water in a few pockets were responsible for the trigger.
The hot and humid climate is conducive to the growth of mosquitoes. He said that owing to drinking water crisis, large containers were used to store water.
In the wake of the outbreak, officials of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Shivamogga City Corporation are on door-to-door visits to create awareness among the people on the measures to be taken to avoid breeding of mosquitoes. During the visits, people are apprised of the need to prevent accumulation of water in unused tyres, flower pots and refrigerator drip trays.
Of 35 wards in Shivamogga city, 21 wards have been identified as vulnerable. The civic workers have taken up intense cleaning work in two phases in September in these wards that includes clearing clogged drains and cleaning the vacant sites.
Mr. Suragihalli said that the department has received complaints that some private health establishments were creating panic among people over dengue outbreak.
Some private hospitals were declaring patients with fever as ‘weekly positive’ for dengue after subjecting the blood samples of the patients to laboratory investigations that are not fool-proof. The patients are forced to undergo costly medical treatment after these tests.
He said that enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was mandatory to diagnose dengue.
The Viral Diagnostic Laboratory of the department in the city is equipped to perform this test. Private hospitals have been directed to ensure that the samples of blood drawn from patients suffering with dengue symptoms must be subjected to ELISA test.
In addition to this, the private health establishments have been directed to provide weekly report to the department on the number of patients treated with them for vector-borne diseases, including dengue.
Based on this report, the operation to eradicate mosquito is being undertaken at the localities where such patients reside, he said.
