With the onset of monsoon, dengue cases are on the rise in Mysuru district and the district administration has asked the health authorities to control the spread of the infection.
Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra held an emergency meeting with health officials on Saturday and directed them to take measures to control the dengue spread.
Out of the 3,493 patients who underwent dengue test, 481 were reported to have been carrying the infection, with the infection rate standing at 14 per cent.
The infection rate had come down from what it was in February and March, Dr. Rajendra said.
He said private hospitals had to inform health authorities here about dengue cases. Treatment in private hospitals for dengue had to be according to prescribed costs and warned that action would be taken if the patients were overcharged.
More awareness was necessary on dengue and on how it could be prevented by taking certain measures such as preventing mosquito breeding. Water shouldn’t be allowed to stagnate as these places were breeding grounds for mosquitoes which caused the infection, he said.
Hygiene had to be maintained in public places, and steps must be taken to release guppy and gambusia in waterbodies as these fishes are known to eat mosquito larvae in breeding sources.
Surveillance teams from the vector borne diseases control unit have been asked to be on alert in view of the rise in cases. Cases are usually high in June and July owing to rains.
Field workers had been asked to keep a watch on cluster outbreaks.
Health workers are visiting houses to check mosquito breeding, and water stored in containers is being checked. The department, is telling people, especially in villages, to clean containers and dry them before filling them with water. They need to be cleaned once in two days to prevent breeding.
Steps such as fogging in gram panchayats and municipal areas, screening of blood samples in suspected cases and Information Education and Communication are among the activities taken up almost every year to contain the spread.
A couple of years ago, primary health centres (PHCs) started breeding mosquito-eating fish to combat vector-borne diseases, especially dengue. More than 150 fish tanks had been constructed in PHCs where guppy and gambusia were bred.
