Dengue toll climbs to 6, Mamata Banerjee goes into damage control mode

“The team will visit offices, schools, hospitals to ensure there is no stagnation of water,” Mamata told mediapersons after the meeting.

State education minister Partha Chatterjee said government schools would have to follow guidelines to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. This would be monitored by the district administration.

Mamata said under-construction buildings would be under the scanner as they are likely spots where debris are dumped and water gets collected.

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The state government will also take up several sensitization programmes to spread awareness about what should be done to avoid Dengue.

“An awareness drive will be held soon, not only about Dengue but also about Malaria and other diseases which spread during monsoon and could be fatal if not checked,” Mamata said.

According to state Director of Health Services, Biswaranjan Satpathy, until last year, the state had only witnessed strains 1 and 3 of the Dengue virus.

It was only last year that a shift to strains 2 and 4 was observed. “The mortality rate is higher in these two strains as it quickly leads to organ failure,” he said.

State hospitals have been alerted to check the spread of the disease and blood banks have been instructed to function round the clock.

The chief minister said there was also an increase in the number of people infected with Dengue coming to the state.

Dengue detection camps organised by KMC, which were supposed to start on Tuesday, were delayed by a day owing to rains.

Officials of KMC’s health department ensured the camps would start on Wednesday.

“We have already engaged people to spread awareness through announcements on loudspeakers at different areas of Kolkata. Posters and hoardings have been put up at important crossings to let people know about the symptoms of Dengue. They are being urged to get a blood test done in case they have fever,” said a health official.