Bhubaneswar: The capital city, which is already in the grip of COVID-19, has witnessed a surge in dengue cases that have more than doubled in the last 10 days.
According to Niranjan Mishra, director, Public Health, out of 427 cases reported in the state this year, the city alone accounted for 276 patients till Monday. The number of dengue patients in the capital was 131 out of the total 147 in the state till July 16.
However, the government has received no report of death due to the vector-borne disease, Mishra said. Most dengue cases have been reported from Sailashree Vihar, Niladri Vihar, Chandrasekarpur, Unit VIII and Kalpana Square areas.
Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started taking preventive measures to control the disease. It is promoting awareness among people to use mosquito repellents, throw away stagnant water, cover open water containers and use long-lasting insecticidal nets while sleeping.
It has asked the state government offices to ensure that there is no stagnant water on the premises including rooftops. Resident Welfare Associations of apartments have been told to take steps to prevent waterlogging to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.
The BMC is also working on source reduction. Since aedes aegypti breeds in clean water, people have been asked to change the water in the air cooler, water pot in the Puja room and the water container behind the refrigerator every day.
The municipal body has also launched anti-dengue fogging drive in the affected areas to eliminate breeding of mosquitoes, BMC sources said.
Also Read: Dengue Scare Grips Odisha Capital As Cases Spiral
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