Vizag district tops in dengue cases

• State stands at sixth place in the country in dengue cases
• People advised to keep their surroundings clean

Visakhapatnam: Based on the CM’s Dashboard, daily and weekly reports on dengue, malaria and swine flu cases were reported from all the districts and it’s also indicating the areas prone to the vector-borne diseases. 

Andhra Pradesh is the sixth highest in the country in dengue cases reported in 2018.  

As per the data available at National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) records as many as 3,159, 3,417, 4,925 dengue fever cases were reported from Andhra Pradesh in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

According to King George Hospital deputy superintendent and professor of medicine Dr K Indira Devi, most of the people tested positive for dengue are from urban areas of the district. There is a spurt of cases with 25-30 people being tested positive for dengue every day at the KGH Virology Lab alone since last July onwards. 

The climatic conditions in the district like decrease in temperature has  favored the mosquitoes breeding. Over 710 dengue positive cases were reported this year so far from Visakhapatnam district alone, which is nearly 90 per cent of the total cases reported in the state. 

While only 400 cases were registered in the month of July.  Patients, who are undergoing treatment, are stable and the treatment is based on symptoms and platelet counts of the patients, she added.

Speaking to The Hans India, GVMC Chief Medical Officer (Health) A Hemanth Kumar said that  changes in environmental factors  favour spreading of dengue fever. This is the reason Visakhapatnam is recording more dengue fever cases.  

“Mosquitoes breeding is due to stagnation of fresh water at houses, which are placed in the pots, used to keep indoor plants, stagnated water in garden, water coolers, defrost drain basket of refrigerators, unused tyres, grinding stone and any other freshwater sources. 

If the fresh water gets stagnated for more than five days, dengue mosquitoes start breeding. It is 100 per cent preventable diseases and not contagious. People need to take care of their surroundings at their homes”, GVMC Chief Medical Officer. 

Overhead water tanks are another major source for dengue mosquitos’ breeding. People usually forget to get them cleaned. Water also accumulates in the water bowls people set out for birds and pets in the homes, he added.