Rally to mark National Dengue Day

Visakhapatnam: The district health and medical department officials took out a rally, along with the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation (GVMC) officials, to mark the third National Dengue Day.

In all, 11,832 dengue cases were reported in 2017 in the country and number of deaths from the vector-borne disease was also higher than the last year. District medical health officer (DMHO) R Ramesh flagged off the rally, along with GVMC officials, here on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, R Ramesh (DMHO) said that dengue is a common viral disease spread by mosquito bite. It is transmitted by a mosquito called Aedes Aegypti.

It occurs in two forms- the first form is classical dengue fever also known as break bone fever because of the severe pain it develops in patients’ joints and second form is dengue hemorrhagic fever which is not only painful but also deadly. It usually results in abnormal bleeding from nose, gums or blood in urine.

He also advised the dengue patients to be strong and not to panic. “Consult a doctor immediately. Take essential precautions. Patients should consume nutritious and mineral rich foods. According to experts, papaya leaf juice could prove to be an effective remedy to treat dengue fever.

He also urged the denizens to make a habit of cleaning up the stagnated water sources around their surroundings and observe a dry day on every Friday to curb spread of mosquitoes.

196 dengue positive cases reported in 4 years

Srikakulam: Over 191 dengue positive cases were reported in four years in the district from 2014 to May 2018. Over 1,843 blood samples were collected by the district epidemic cell medical officers and staff for the past four years. Out of the total samples, 196 dengue positive cases were reported.

Fourteen dengue positive cases were reported in 2014, in 2015, six positive cases were reported, in 2016, total cases rose to 114 and in 2017, the number fell to 57. In 2018, 67 blood samples were collected across the district till May 16 and five positive cases were detected out of them.

Two tests are required to confirm dengue fever, preliminary test is NS-1 Antigen test and for further clarity and confirmation, Elisa test is essential. NS-1 test is available at all the primary health centres (PHC), area hospitals, community health centres (CHC) and private hospitals to confirm symptoms. Elisa test is available only at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Srikakulam.

Dengue fever is a notified disease declared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare based on the guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO). “Every private or government hospital in the district shall inform the district medical and health officials after getting positive results in NS-1 test’”, district epidemic cell in-charge Dr Panga Giridhar Rao told The Hans India.