Nagpur: Even as Nagpurians are sensing a sort of relief on Covid-19 front, another dreaded disease – Dengue — is set to torment the citizens in the Second Capital in coming days. In the month of June alone, two kids and a middle-aged woman have died, while 98 new cases of dengue have been detected from 149 samples from across the city by the Malaria and Filaria Department of NMC. Just over 100 positive cases of the mosquito-borne disease were reported in the whole 2020.
Dengue is transmitted by the bite of the female aedes aegypti mosquito. While there are sporadic cases around the year, the traditional peak season for dengue can last from June to October and there is a need to increase surveillance and prevent dengue infection, said an official of the civic body.
For the sake of record, till May 7, only six cases of dengue were found in the city this year. The figure has now crossed 150 in just over one month mainly because of the surge in June. Out of the 98 new cases, 42 cases were in the bracket of 0-24 years.
The deceased include a 7-month old boy from Satranjipura, a 9-year old girl from Dharampeth and a 36-year old woman from Hanuman Nagar Zone. The NMC’s Health Committee will investigate the deceased patients’ history to ascertain if they had any comorbidity before confirming them as dengue deaths.
The serum samples of all the three deceased have tested positive in the Elisa NSI test. The NMC’s officials visited the homes of the deceased as well as other patients and found large mosquito breeding spots, mainly in coolers and surrounding filthy areas.
Despite yearly outbreaks, people at large have a careless attitude towards this menace. People expect NMC, particularly health authorities, to deal with the problem. Aedes Aegypti, the vector which transmits dengue viruses to human beings, is a highly domesticated mosquito. It has certain characteristics which makes them difficult to control, leave aside elimination. Unlike anopheles, the malaria mosquito, which feeds primarily during night hours, Aedes bite during day time and thereby makes our barrier systems like mosquito net, and repellents redundant.
