Ahmedabad: 8 dengue deaths in last 3 months, all in areas of municipal corporations

Of the 75,932 suspected samples tested for dengue since January 1 until October 14 this year, 5,961 have tested positive, resulting in serum positivity of nearly 7.8 per cent, said Dr B S Jesalpura, Joint Director and in-charge of the state’s National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).
“This is higher than last year. Between January 1 and October 14 in 2018, 51,233 suspected samples were tested of which 3,392 were positive, thereby giving a serum positivity of nearly 6.6 per cent. This can be also attributed to the fact that more samples have been considered as suspected cases this year,” Jesalpura added.

The state Health Department has been attributing the high incidence of Dengue to the heavy rainfall in Gujarat this year.

Jesalpura added, “The high numbers in Corporation areas can be attributed to the higher population density. Along with that, the overall atmosphere of mosquito breeding is very high in the state, especially in the case of dengue mosquitoes for which a spoonful of water is enough for it to breed. Districts of Banaskantha, Vadodara, Amreli and Dahod, too, have reported high numbers. Community participation is very important and the government alone cannot do enough to tackle such diseases.”

Jesalpura admitted that a rising trend has been observed as of October 14, 2019. “Compared to last year, the number of cases reported is 75 per cent higher this year.”

Dr Dinkar Raval, Deputy Director of the epidemic division of the state’s Health Department, partly attributes the high number of cases reported in Jamnagar – JMC as well as the district – to the fact that Jamnagar Civil Hospital has attending to cases from JMC, Jamnagar rural, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar and Morbi.

Dr Raval also pointed out a geographical challenge in Jamnagar. “The Lakhota lake right in the heart of the city has posed a challenge, especially in light of the fact that the district received 80 per cent rainfall. Further, the surrounding area is low-lying. However, there has been continuous water-fogging and we have seen improvement. In the past three to four days, new cases being reported have reduced considerably.”