Nayagarh: Panic gripped the residents here in this district as the vector-borne dengue continues to grip Nayagarh as more than 10 people from different places of the district are being diagnosed with the disease on a daily basis, medical reports said.
Government reports claimed that at least 128 people have been tested dengue positive in the area so far, of which, the highest number of cases-45 were reported from Manitri village under Bhapur block of the district.
Meanwhile, the district administration has swung into action and taking every possible means to tackle the disease. A sanitation drive has been launched to clean villages in order to contain the breeding of the mosquitoes.
Moreover, the administration has formed separate teams who will visit from villages to villages and spread treatment. The team would include Asha workers, nurses and doctors. The administration has also issued an advisory asking the people to be cautious.
Of the many dengue cases, few are indigenous and others were reported from migrant workers working in other states. Many of the dengue patients were working in companies and brick-kilns in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
The dengue cases have been reported ever since the district started getting showers. The number of people with fever symptoms frerquenting hospitals is going up reportedly after the onset of the rainy season.
“Two villages including Manitri village in Bhapur and Biruda village in Nayagarh block have been severely affected by the disease. So far 128 cases have been reported in the district,” when contacted, Nayagarh District Collector, N Tirumala Nayak said. Also sporadic cases of the mosquito-borne disease are being reported from other parts of the district, he added.
A separate dengue ward has been opened for dengue patients in the Nayagarh DHH. On the other hand, locals have alleged that despite having a separate dengue ward in the Nayagarh District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), the patients are forced to undergo treatment in the general ward of the hospital as it remains closed most of the time.
A patient undergoing treatment at Bhapur hospital in the district alleged, “The hospital has released some 17-18 patients without giving them their blood reports, due to which patients are forced to move from Bhapur to Nayagarh, from Nayagarh to Cuttack and then Bhubaneswar. Finally they return home without even being prescribed medicines.”
Earlier, a dengue patient undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack died Sunday, taking the toll in dengue-related deaths to five at the premier state-run hospital.
PNN