Rising dengue cases in Karnataka raise alarm bells in health department!

Bengaluru: The sudden rise in the number of dengue infections in the state has alarmed the health department in Karnataka.

At a time when the Karnataka government is doing extremely well as far as management of the Covid-19 situation is concerned, the health department is now hunting for ways to curb the rise in dengue cases.

The data available show that the number of dengue cases has seen a sudden spurt of 84 percent in the recent past causing worries. The state had recorded 2,987 dengue cases till September this year. However, after heavy and untimely rains, a total of 2,516 new cases were recorded till November 17 from September, IANS reported.

According to the health department, a whopping one lakh plus tests were conducted in the state for dengue symptoms this year of which more than 40 percent of tests were done in Bengaluru.

As many as 1,038 cases of dengue are reported in Bengaluru alone in 2021. In the month of November, 117 persons tested positive. After Bengaluru, Shivamogga district reported 393, followed by Kalaburgi (386), Udupi (312), and Koppal (278), health department sources explain.

Incessant rains, water stagnation points, pits, and garbage dumps have been leading to the breeding of mosquitoes, causing dengue, IANS quoted the health department officials as saying.

Five deaths due to dengue fever were reported in October from Dakshina Kannada, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara districts.

The Health Department has taken up precautionary measures to tackle the situation in coordination with National Vector Borne Disease Control Programmes (NVBDCP) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

(With inputs from IANS)