Bhubaneswar: The Capital city has witnessed a 13-fold rise in dengue cases during last three weeks taking the total number of cases to 235, with about 17 new cases detected Wednesday.
As per Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) sources the civic body had only 17 cases until July 7, but there has been a steep rise in the vector-borne disease as about 15-20 cases are being detected every day. While the cases are being reported from different part of the city, a large number of cases are being detected in slum pockets of Niladri Vihar and Sailshree Vihar.
“About 50 cases have been reported from Niladri Vihar followed by 28 from Sailashree Vihar. Many cases have also been reported from Chandrasekharpur, Unit VIII, Kalpana Square and other localities in the city. Most of these cases have been observed in slum areas where stagnant water has been source of breeding of Aedes mosquito,” a BMC official said.
The official also added the civic body has deployed three teams which have destroyed more than 800 breeding sources found during surveillance. He mentioned that the teams have intensified awareness among people to use mosquito repellents, eliminate stagnant water, cover open water containers and use long-lasting insecticidal nets while sleeping.
Meanwhile, Additional District Urban Primary Health Officer (ADUPHO) Antaryami Mishra said that the cumulative cases are recorded from January and a dip in cases will follow. “Most of these patients have recovered and we are monitoring the active cases. However, anyone having symptoms of fever and body ache can get himself/herself tested for free at Capital Hospital, RMRC and AIIMS,” he added.