BEWARE! Monsoon Brings Back Dengue Fever Threat

The threat of several vector-borne diseases, including dengue, has begun to loom with the arrival of monsoon. Till June 22, the state had officially registered 37 dengue cases, with a maximum of 21 from Patna. However, no dengue-related deaths have been reported in the state this season.

"The breakdown of cases reported until June 22 shows that, apart from Patna with the most cases, Bhojpur district had reported three cases, Madhubani and Saran two cases each," said Dr. Binay Kumar Sharma, state programme officer for national vector-borne diseases control department. One case was reported in Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, and Lakhisarai. Two more people from outside the state tested positive for dengue in Bihar.

Dr. Sharma stated that the state has so far reported one case of chikungunya, which is from Patna. "The national vector-borne diseases control department has taken initiatives to raise public awareness, and a letter has already been sent to all district vector-borne disease control officers, asking them to carry out awareness campaigns and observe July as an anti-dengue month," he said.

So far, the majority of dengue cases have been reported from AIIMS-Patna, followed by RMRI and PMCH. According to a health care worker at the PMCH laboratory, the number of cases has slightly increased in recent weeks.

"Some days, five to six cases are registered." This happened recently, following the rain. We must wait to comprehend the trend," he added. Concerning the patients admitted to AIIMS-Patna, Dr. Divendu Bhushan, assistant professor at the department of medicine, stated that they have begun to have two to three patients admitted per day.

According to data from the National Centre for Vector-Borne Disease Control, a total of 10172 cases of dengue fever were registered in the country until the end of May, with three deaths. Bihar had 28 cases up until the same time period, while Tamil Nadu had a maximum of 2548 cases.

Meanwhile, both the central and state governments have urged people to remove stagnant water, such as cleaning their coolers once a week, wearing full-sleeved clothing, and using mosquito nets and repellents while sleeping, in order to detect dengue cases.