Dengue Ward To Be Opened At All CHCs In ‘Hotspot’ Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Amid the alarming rise in dengue cases, the Health Department has decided to open dengue ward in all four Community Health Centers (CHCs) in Odisha capital.

According to sources, these urban CHCs will have 10 beds each for dengue patients.

“We have made provisions for dengue sample collection and treatment at the four centres under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation limits. The patients can be treated at home and shifted to hospital in case of any complication,” Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra said.

He further informed that blood banks have been directed to keep adequate stock in view of the rising cases. “On an average more than 60 fresh cases of dengue are being detected in Odisha daily for about a month now,” he said.

The testing figure has crossed 38,500 compared to 18,700 across Odisha last year.

Mishra said that the number of dengue cases have risen since the state intensified surveillance and testing.  Besides, special arrangements have been made at the Capital Hospital here for dengue test. A special testing centre will start operating at the hospital from Thursday.

“There is no need to panic as the complication rate is less than five per cent,” he added.

The state has so far reported 2,426 dengue cases, and 1,164 of those diagnosed with the vector-borne disease are from Bhubaneswar alone. Odisha is also among six high dengue-burden states that have been fuelling the case tally this season, according to data released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

However, the government has been refuting dengue deaths despite five suspected fatality in Bhubaneswar since July 22. “We have received information about five deaths so far and the cause of death in none of them was found to be dengue,” Mishra told the media.