Bhubaneswar: As dengue cases crossed 2000 mark in Odisha, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) launched an awareness campaign in schools of the city. The dengue awareness drive will gradually cover all schools in the state capital.
The total number of dengue cases detected in the state mounted to 2,111 on August 16. Khurda district, which includes state capital Bhubaneswar, tops the list with 1,155 dengue cases, prompting the civic body to intensify the drive against the vector-borne disease.
“Dengue awareness programme at schools. Cspur Govt High School students were sensitised regarding Dengue preventive measures. Team BMC SI, Anti Larva Team, Ward Officer, Project Coordinator, MPHW, Volunteers, Swachha Sathis and their Supervisor attended. #StopDengue,” the civic body tweeted.
Apart from students, teaching and non-teaching staff in the schools will be sensitised regarding dengue preventive measures. Besides undertaking the campaign in schools, the civic body is also conducting door-to-door awareness drive in the state capital, said an official.
Stating that local residents will be asked to keep their households and surrounding clean, he said cleanliness in the city will be prioritised keeping in mind the rising number of dengue patients.
As part of the door-to-door campaign of ‘Ghara Ghara Samparka’ launched on August 10, BMC has so far covered 4,309 households. Mosquito oil is being sprayed and larva breeding spots are being identified and destroyed to contain the spread of dengue.
It may be noted here that the city has reported 1,164 dengue cases this year, including 300 in the past week. The BMC, however, claimed that the cases have started declining with an average of 43 cases getting reported daily, as against 50 everyday a week ago.
According to BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange, dengue cases are declining as the average test positivity rate (TPR) this year is far below than that of 2022. While the TPR per 100 samples is 11 this year, it was 19 in 2022.
