Dengue spread: City areas become hotspots; precautions necessary!

Mangaluru: There has been a spike in dengue cases in the coastal areas in the last few days. Alarmingly, city areas including hostels and educational institutions, are turning into dengue hotspots.

Out of the 325 cases reported in Dakshina Kannada, 230 were from within Mangaluru City Corporation limits. There has been a high incidence in the Jeppu, Bunder, Yekkur, Kasaba Bengre, and Ladyhill areas of the city.

Similarly, 449 cases out of 610 cases in Udupi district were detected from Udupi Taluk alone.

Spread of dengue in hostels has been a cause of concern. A few weeks ago, more than 10 hostels in Dakshina Kannada had an average of 3 to 4 dengue infections.

Larval Survey underway:

Meanwhile, the health department is conducting awareness to stem the spread of infectious diseases including dengue and malaria. In addition, a larval survey is being conducted.

ASHA workers, health department officials, MPW workers, and nursing college students are going door-to-door, checking for areas of open water storage, conducting fever surveys, identifying mosquito breeding sites, and providing information to take precautionary measures.

“The Aedes mosquito that causes dengue bites during the day time. It is also reproduced in clean water. Therefore, to stop its reproduction homes need to be involved. Only then is control possible.

“The health department is running several campaigns to eradicate dengue. The fogging work has also going on continuously. We request that the public should also cooperate with the health department in controlling dengue,” said Dr Thimmaiah and Dr Nagabhushan Udupa, the DHOs of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi respectively.