Bhopal Sees Sharp Rise in Dengue Cases After 200 Tested Positive

In the last week, more than a dozen people have been diagnosed with dengue in Bhopal. The season’s total number of infected people has jumped to over 200, out of which half of them have been infected by the vector-borne disease since August, making it the worst outbreak of dengue in the state capital since 2009.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito. This is typically a monsoon disease, occurring in and around the sub-tropical and tropical parts of the world. There are four distinct serotypes of the dengue virus (DEN 1, DEN 2, DEN 3 and DEN 4). Symptoms appear in 3–14 days (average 4–7 days) after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults. There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Severe dengue is a potentially lethal complication but early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses often save lives.

TOI reported that according to health department estimates, out of every 10 cases suspected for dengue, one is turning out to be positive, as per trends in September. According to district health officials, about six new dengue cases were reported on Sunday. Most of the infected were residents of Kolar, Arera Colony and BHEL area.

The drive by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) to curb the spread of dengue seems to have lost steam. Teams from BMC in association with health department carried out anti-larvae activity in Semra area of Bhopal earlier this week. BMC’s core focus has been Kolar area, from where nearly one-fifth of all dengue cases in the city have been reported, said an official.

According to BMC health officer SP Shrivastava, people were fined Rs 500 each after larvae was found breeding on their premises. Those penalised included a construction site developer and other commercial operators with flooded basements.