Dengue cases breach 1K-mark in Bhubaneswar; 60 test positive daily at Capital Hospital

Bhubaneswar: While dengue case load has breached 1,000 mark in Odisha capital, Superintendent of Capital Hospital Dillip Kumar Panda on Sunday said that 300-400 samples being tested at the health facility in the city every day.

“Around 50-60 of these samples are testing positive for the vector-borne disease. At present, 50 special beds are available for dengue patients in the hospital and 48 are under treatment. Prophylactic platelet transfusions are being given to eight-nine serious patients daily,” he said.

A total of 393 persons underwent dengue testing on Saturday and among them 61 were found positive, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to re-introduce its drone spray drive to destroy mosquito breeding sources in inaccessible pockets of the city.

An official from the Health and Family Welfare department said that all 67 wards in the city are in the grip of dengue post monsoon with 97 cases being detected at Nayapalli followed by Acharya Vihar (94) and Jayadev Vihar (60). At least 10 other places, including Satya Nagar, Unit-IX, Baramunda and Unit-VI, have reported 10 to 50 cases so far this season.

The civic body had earlier announced Rs 5,000 and Rs 1,000 fines against households and commercial establishment found with mosquito breeding grounds on their premises. Random checking of households for the purpose is expected to start from August 15.