Dengue: with 126 fresh cases tally crosses 6000-mark, death toll at 13
The cases of Dengue are surging with every passing day in Jammu and Kashmir, as the infection from the vector borne disease has claimed 13 lives so far while the overall count has reached 6174 mark.
As many as 126 fresh cases of dengue were reported in Union Territory on Sunday with 103 alone from Jammu district. Jammu district alone accounted for the highest 4,709 dengue cases. In the past one week alone 937 cases have been reported across the UT.
Three persons have died of dengue in the past 48 hours in the Jammu region including a person who died at DMC Ludhiana. “A resident of Rajouri was referred to DMC Ludhiana for specialised treatment but could not survive,” an official said. “Two other patients infected with dengue have died in GMC Jammu. So far, 13 people have died of dengue.” The spread of Dengue is much more in the plain areas of the region including Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.
As per official figures as on date, 21,121 tests have been conducted so far, of which 6174 turned out positive for the virus. 4,709 cases (around 80% of total cases registered in J&K) have been reported alone from Jammu district, followed by 614 from Udhampur, 246 from Samba, 197 from Doda, 112 from Kathua, 97 from Reasi, 79 from Rajouri, 39 from Ramban, 31 from Poonch and 24 from Kishtwar district.
In Kashmir region, they said only 10 positive cases have been reported so far while 16 cases of locals were reported from other States/UTs. Sources further informed that a total of 385 tests for Dengue were conducted today in the Union Territory and out of these 103 cases reported from Jammu district, 13 from Samba district, five Udhampur and one each from Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Kishtwar districts.
Meanwhile, to control the spread of dengue, the Jammu Municipal Corporation(JMC) has intensified fogging drives. The areas covered during the drive included Rehari, Paloura, Janipur, Sarwal, Rajpura, Subashnagar, New Plot, Roopnagar, Talab Tillo, Bakshinagar, Muthi, Gandhinagar and Channi Himmat. The spokesman said the fogging drives will be done in all wards of the JMC in coming days in coordination with the anti-malaria wing of health department Jammu.
“Such drives shall continue to completely eradicate dengue from the city,” JMC Mayor Rajinder Sharma said, directing the health wing of JMC to put in place a sufficient number of men and machinery for conducting fogging in each and every area of the city. The mayor appealed to all the inhabitants of Jammu city to avoid accumulation of water at their homes, empty water coolers, pots and keep the surroundings neat and clean.
Dengue mosquito larvae breed in clear, standing water while that of malaria thrive in dirty water. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December. Schools, unauthorised colonies, and construction sites are among the hotspots for mosquito breeding in Jammu, said senior officials.
