12 fresh dengue cases in Prayagraj, tally past 1000-mark
PRAYAGRAJ : With Prayagraj reporting 12 new dengue cases on Saturday, the total tally in the district till date has reached 1008. Fresh cases surfaced from Kareli (1), Naini central jail(1), Chhota Baghada (1), Jhunsi (1), Rajapur (1), Teliyarganj (1), Shivkuti (1), Beli (1), Kotwa Bani (1), Bahariya (1) and Naini (2) areas.
“Of the fresh cases, 10 are from city areas while two are from rural areas,” said district malaria officer (DMO), Prayagraj, Anand Singh. “Moreover, out of total 1008 dengue cases in the district so far, 742 have been reported from urban pockets, while the rest 266 are from rural areas,” he added.
“As a result, around 74% of the total cases have been reported from city areas,” Singh said.
In view of the spike in dengue cases in urban areas, health department officials have intensified anti-larvae spraying drive in city areas, including Swaraj Nagar, Govindpur, Phaphamau, Rajapur, Teliyarganj, Sulem Sarai and adjoining localities.
A senior district health official said health teams were constantly making people aware about the preventive measures to check the spread of dengue and had appealed to them to use mosquito nets. “We are also conducting door-to-door campaigns and surveys in the cityinfected colonies and urban areas,” he added.
“Fogging and anti-larvae spraying exercise have also been intensified in the identified pockets of city besides transGanga and Yamuna areas of the district,” the official said. Several teams of the health department and municipal corporation have conducted surveys of over 2.75 lakh houses in the city limits to find out the reasons behind the spread of the vectorborne diseases and take corrective measures accordingly.
Officials admitted that over 40% of the houses with deserted coolers, flower pots and abandoned or unused articles dumped on roofs were found to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes in city areas.
Officials said owners or tenants of houses were found to be unbothered regarding cleQaning their coolers, flower pots, or even dispose of unused articles kept on the side of the roof of houses for a month.
Also, the numbers of drains and areas witnessing water logging due to various reasons have also turned into areas for mosquito breeding—all of which are now being targeted in a bid to control the spread of dengue in the urban areas.