With dengue cases on the rise in the city, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) has sought to allay the fears of people regarding the spread of the mosquito-borne disease by claiming that the situation is “totally under control.”
Officials of the civic body held a press conference on Friday and urged people not to panic as most of the people rushing to hospitals for treatment are “catching normal viral fever and not dengue fever,” the Times of India reported.
Speaking on the occasion, Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama said, “At present, there is a sense of fear among the public regarding the dengue virus but we want to assure everybody that the situation is totally under control. The DMC has 108 fogging machines and each ward has been allotted a machine. Dengue virus can be controlled by following some simple measures.”
Doctors present at the press conference stressed on several preventive measures that people ought to take in order to ensure for themselves and others protection from mosquitoes. They also debunked a few popular myths regarding dengue which along with malaria, chikungunya, zika and other mosquito-borne diseases affect millions of people across the world every year.
Dr. Vipul Kandwal, gastro-surgeon at Arogyadham Hospital told TOI, “There is an atmosphere of fear for no reason. Most of the people are catching the normal viral fever and not dengue fever. I request the people to consult a doctor when they feel uneasy and not decide medication on their own.”
With 19 new patients, the total number of dengue cases reached 801 on Monday in Dehradun, TOI quoted officials as saying.
A dengue death was reported from Haldwani, where 585 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported so far this year.
The health department says it has inspected over 50,000 households in Dehradun since July and found dengue larvae in 1,785 of them.
“We have examined over 2 lakh people in the district, among whom more than 4,000 were found to be suffering from fever. Medicines have been distributed among those suffering from fever and dengue,” Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dehradun, Dr SK Gupta, was quoted as saying.
The CMO added that 21 new dengue cases had been reported from Uttarakhand on Monday, including 19 from capital city Dehradun and two from other districts.
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