Dengue outbreak in Kendrapara district, no casualty

Kendrapara: Over 100 samples have tested positive for dengue virus in Kendrapara district this month with a district health official claiming that the situation was "very much under control".

A couple of riverside villages in Aul and Mahakalpada tehsils account for majority of the 123 people testing positive for the vector-borne disease prompting the health officials to step up preventive measures.

No casualty has been reported from the district so far and the disease has not taken the form of an epidemic, District Malaria Officer Sushant Kumar Das said.

Only sporadic cases have been reported, he said.

Mahakalpada and Aul tehsils have recorded the highest number of positive cases at 38 and 25 respectively, the official said.

While 33 dengue positive cases were reported from Patalipanka village under Mahakalpada tehsil, Gobindpur village in Aul tehsil accounted for 12 positive cases.

"While 123 samples have tested positive for dengue in the district so far this month, things are very much under control with the health department launching measures to clean the surroundings and maintain hygiene in the villages", Das said.

The situation will improve in a week, he said.

Through public address system, the health department is asking the people to keep the surroundings clean, free from stagnant water sources. The panchayati raj representatives have also joined the campaign, he said.

Female Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the dengue virus, breeds in stagnant water.

Fogging has also been intensified in the affected villages, he said.

Hostile weather condition has been cited as the reason for the sudden rise in the number of dengue cases. Frequent low pressure-induced rainfall was the main reason behind the sudden spurt in dengue cases, the official said.

Health officials are unable to diagnose the suspected dengue cases in time with the sole Human Dengue virus Elisa kit installed at the district headquarters hospital lying defunct since the past two months, he said.

The blood samples of suspected dengue cases are now being sent to the Microbiology department of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as a result of which diagnosis is getting delayed.

"We have written to the higher authorities in this regard," Das said.