Govt swings into action as dengue stings state harder

Even as Pune, especially Pimpri-Chinchwad, earned the dubious distinction of being the second worst dengue-affected district in the state, marathon meetings by senior state officials have been initiated to review the spiralling dengue cases in Maharashtra.

As compared to last year’s 518 dengue cases reported till September, a total of 762 cases have been reported from across the state so far this year. Officials have attributed the 47% rise in dengue cases to the water scarcity situation and intermittent rains which led to accumulation of fresh water in pools.

“Ten days ago, assistant medical officer of health from all corporations in the state held a meeting with senior officials to discuss the dengue situation. They were asked to step up fogging in areas where mosquito breeding is likely, door-to-door survey, especially in affected areas, etc. However, since dengue is largely a man-made problem, we have asked corporations to put thrust on awareness drives and community mobilisation,” said state epidemiologist Dr Pradeep Awate.

Explaining how dengue was a man-made problem, Awate said, “Dengue mosquito breeds in fresh water accumulated at construction sites, in homes near potted plants, near refrigerators, uncovered stored water, etc.

“Officials can undertake fogging in public places and ensure non-accumulation of garbage, and water, but at home, the onus is on the people to ensure cleanliness and non-accumulation of water.

“Our state is facing water scarcity. Hence, it is a natural tendency to store water and this is probably a reason for spurt in cases. We have asked health officials to put thrust on community participation and awareness drives to curb dengue cases,” he added.

While the number of dengue cases have risen, the number of deaths till September is the same as last year’s — 18. Even H1N1 cases have been on the rise for the last couple of months. In Pune Municipal Corporation limits, H1N1 cases rose from 1 and zero deaths in June to 117 positive cases and four deaths in September.

PMC’s chief medical officer Dr ST Pardeshi said, “In a majority of cases, patients were immuno-compromised, i.e. they had pre-existing medical complications that led to deterioration of their condition. In many cases, self-neglect increased the complexity leading to deaths.”