Dengue outbreak in UP's Prayagraj: 78 new cases reported in October, health officials target 30 hotspots

PRAYAGRAJ: The month of October has witnessed a spike in dengue cases in Sangam City.
A total of 78 dengue cases were reported to district health authorities between October 1 and 18, while the total number of dengue cases in the district crossed the 150 mark.
Ironically, most cases were reported from posh residential localities, including Teliyarganj, Rajapur, Sulemsarai, Georgetown, Naini, Mundera, Shantipur, and Allahapure.
A survey of over 1 lakh houses revealed that about 26% of them contained larvae of Aedes mosquitoes, which carry the dengue-causing virus. Health officials claimed that while 87% of patients recovered, only 13% were undergoing treatment at hospitals and homes.
Health officials attributed the highest number of dengue cases this season to incessant rains in the past one and a half months, the accumulation of rainwater in deserted areas, and the presence of larvae inside houses.
The health department took more than 30 hotspots under its scanner during the peak season in the district to address the spread of dengue cases.
"The graph of dengue cases will come down from the first week of November as its peak season will decline," said a senior health official, adding, "The city reported the maximum dengue cases in October."
He claimed that house owners and landlords allowing water to stagnate in their surroundings and not bothering to drain it out were leading to the problem.
Locals, however, said that despite municipal authorities' claims of ensuring fumigation in residential areas, mosquito larvae carrying dengue were found in abundance inside homes during surveys. The unoccupied and abandoned houses in the city also compounded the woes of authorities.
Over 60 teams were constituted in the district to make people aware of the issue. About 20 teams were educating and awakening residents in the city's posh pockets alone, where the majority of the dengue cases were reported.
Officials claimed that all measures were being taken to ensure proper sanitation, and fogging was also done in the city on a regular basis. Officials said the support of locals was essential to arrest the graph of dengue cases.