Odisha Second Most Dengue-Affected In Country

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has recorded the second highest dengue cases in India this season. A total of 4,501 cases have been reported in the state till Saturday.

According to the statistics released by National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Maharastra topped the list with 4,667 cases this year followed by Kerala (3,660), Andhra Pradesh (3,314), Himachal Pradesh (3,303), Rajasthan (3,022) and Karnataka with 2,689 cases till September 30, when Odisha had reported 3883 cases.

There has been a rise in the number of such cases in Odisha as against last year when 4,158 people had tested positive for dengue. It has spread its tentacles to 28 of the 30 districts.

According to the sources, more than 80 per cent dengue positive cases have been reported from industrial and urban areas of the state. Khurda district has reported the highest 1055 cases while 841 persons have tested positive in Jagatsinghpur district. Cuttack reported 700 cases, Kendrapara 225, Jajpur 224, Rayagada 202, Nayagarh 167, Bhadrak 158 and Kalahandi 154 cases.

In the smart city Bhubaneswar, Chandrasekharpur has been the central point of dengue attack. The disease has affected more than 600 persons, which is an all-time high for the Odisha capital.

This year, dengue has so far claimed five lives.

On September 23, Soumyaranjan Nayak (18) of Kujanga in Jagatsinghpur district. succumbed to the disease at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. He was admitted to the hospital on September 20 and later shifted to the ICU of the Medicine Ward as his condition deteriorated. Two more had died at premier hospital, where a special ICU has been set up for dengue patients, on September 10. An under-trial prisoner (UTP) from Rayagada was also among the five.

The first dengue death was reported in the Odisha capital this season on June 7. The deceased was identified as Pratima Das of the BDA Colony at Chandrasekharpur here.

The state had registered six deaths in 2017, 11 deaths and 8,380 cases in 2016 and two deaths and 2,450 cases in 2015.