Two cases of dengue reported from city

The Health department also hinted at the possibility of dengue virus in the patients saying the cases may be of those of dengue but the confirmation could be made only after the eliza confirmatory test. “The hospital has conducted rapid test for the verification of the disease. However,according to the guidelines we follow,a dengue case is confirmed only after an eliza test,” said Dr S S Dhir,District Health Officer.

“We are going to look into the matter to ascertain the presence of the virus in the patients,” he added.

Notably,dengue has come to the fore quite early this year,raising speculations that it could spread faster in the following months.

The patients who tested positive for dengue have been discharged from the SPS Apollo Hospital,said Dr Gautam Aggarwal,consultant,Internal Medicine,SPS Apollo Hospitals. He said the patients were admitted with conditions of fever and rashes on the body but have been discharged after necessary hospitalisation.

While Baldev Singh (30) belongs to Raj Nagar in Jalandhar,Vishal Suri is a resident of Camping Ground Complex near Jagraon Bridge. “It is very early in the year that the cases of dengue have starting coming to the light,” Dr Aggarwal said.

When asked about the early onset of the disease, Dr Dhir explained the dormant eggs of dengue may still be existing in some areas and may have become active in the past weeks as the spells of rains gave them the right kind of environment and temperature,leading to the birth of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. The eggs need a certain range of temperature to turn into larvae, pupa and finally into aedes mosquito,which takes a cycle of seven days,he added.

Last year,the disease had assumed large proportions in the district which recoded the largest number of dengue cases in the state,prompting a national health team to come for a survey. The disease had claimed over 50 lives and left more than 3,000 persons hospitalised. The unofficial figures,however,had pegged the total number of persons hospitalised at more than 5,000.

In the report submitted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,the team of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme headed by deputy director Kalpana Barua had mentioned that the civic and health authorities were not able to check the spread of larvae in time.