No dengue case reported for past 10 days in Patiala

Patiala, December 13

With no positive case being reported in the past 10 days, the spread of dengue seems to have come to an end this year.

Patiala reported 307 positive cases of dengue, an 18 per cent increase against 261 cases witnessed last year. However, the Health Department said the increase was minimal.

Health officials said considering the average annual cases of dengue over the past five years, the outbreak was controlled for the second consecutive year.

According to the Health Department, around 1,207 people were tested for the disease while only 307 were found infected. Patiala reported three suspected dengue deaths this season. The department said there were multiple factors which controlled the dengue outbreak in the district.

The Patiala Epidemiologist, Dr Sumeet Singh, said early launch of anti-larva activities along with widespread house-to-house checking played a crucial role in curbing dengue spread this season. “We kicked off anti-larvae activities in April. The spread was controlled because of better monitoring and supervision,” said Sumeet.

Meanwhile, the Civil Surgeon, Dr Harish Malhotra, said it was a tough task to limit the dengue spread as the staff was overburdened with Covid duties. He said: “Our health workers worked very hard to control the spread of dengue.” — TNS