Prayagraj Records Around 170 Dengue Cases in October

With the receding flood waters in Prayagraj, a new trouble has now popped up. The number of dengue positive cases registered in three government hospitals across the town in the month of October has gone up to 169. However, fortunately, this number is comparatively less than that recorded in the month of October last year, Hindustan Times reported.

Dengue is a mosquito borne viral infection which typically appears during the monsoon season. Dubbed as the “break bone fever” or “dandy fever”, symptoms of dengue fever include severe joint and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, exhaustion, and rash. The presence of fever, rash, and headache (the "dengue triad") is characteristic of dengue fever.

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Severe dengue is a potentially lethal complication but early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses often save lives.

According to district dengue control officer AN Mishra, cases of dengue have been reported in different parts of the district but the count of cases is more in urban than rural areas. He further added that two anti-larval spray teams have been formed which are visiting localities which have shown a high prevalence of dengue cases.

Furthermore, teams from the office of the chief medical officer have been making visits to different localities with the aim of creating awareness of not letting the accumulation of water happen, since that could facilitate as a breeding spot for mosquitoes between the months of October and December.

Speaking to HT, AN Mishra added that due to flood, water is still present in pockets of low-lying areas. He added that these regions are being covered by the anti-larval spray team. According to him, however, the frequency of patients being reported every three to four days is less than what was seen last year. Notably, he revealed that a total of over 900 cases of dengue were reported last year in Prayagraj. That included 325 cases in the month of October alone. He also revealed that this year, the count is nearly half.

Fogging drives are also being carried out in densely populated localities of the city by the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation to prevent the spread of dengue.