Doctor Didi lists dos and don’ts to fight dengue

She also issued a warning: “It was found that many people were taking wrong medicines. I have consulted Dr Subroto Moitra,a leading doctor in medicine,and he told me that for dengue one should take Calpol. Various banned drugs are being sold in the market,which people are not aware of. So I have requested the state health department to upload the list of banned drugs on their website. Do not take Saridon if your head is paining.”

The symptoms of dengue are close to those of normal fever and one must consult a doctor before taking medicine,she added.

The Chief Minister today paid a surprise visit to a private healthcare establishment,Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI),and took a stock of how the authorities were managing dengue patients.

Sources in the hospital said that Mamata arrived at 11.30 am along with municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim. She was in the lobby for 10 minutes and spoke to the deputy medical superintendent and instructed them on taking care of dengue patients.

Dr Chiratan Ghosh,deputy superintendent of CMRI,informed them that 38 dengue positive patients were admitted in CMRI and special care was being given to them.

He said,“Mamata told us to be more careful while treating dengue cases and also stop the public from creating panic.”

Each person is responsible for keeping his or her own area clean,Mamata advised. “I have instructed the health secretary to take stock of the situation at Junglemahal. They will visit Jhargram on September 12.”

CPM councillors today staged a demonstration outside the KMC office demanding that the government take steps to tackle dengue.

With more unconfirmed dengue deaths being reported in the state,the state health department has issued guidelines regarding the vector-borne disease (see box).

PIL filed on dengue

Kolkata: A public interest litigation was filed on Thursday seeking an order directing the state government to take proper steps to combat the outbreak of dengue. According to the petition,a large number of patients have been admitted to government hospitals in the last few days but due to lack of sufficient infrastructure,they could not be given proper treatment,leading to many deaths. The state government has suppressed the death toll and the High Court should ask them to provide correct details,it said.

Advocate Subrata Mukhopadhyay,counsel of the petitioner,urged the division bench headed by Chief Justice Jaynarayan Patel to hear the case on Thursday as an urgent matter. The Bench said it would hear the case on Friday.