Hospitals are filled with dengue patients and people are in fear due to this sudden outbreak.
Dengue cases are taking a toll on citizens’ health in Bangalore. The city has reported more than 400 cases till nearly mid-October. Dr. KV Trilok Chandra, special commissioner of health, Bhruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said, “We are currently working on implementing all the measures we discussed with the health minister in a meeting last month.” Karnataka has seen a total of 9,185 cases till early October 2023 surpassing the previous year’s record which was 9,089 cases in total.
“My child started vomiting two days ago, we thought it was normal fever but it did not stop, I took him to the hospital last night and we got to know that he is lacking platelets in his blood,” said Nirmala, mother of an 11-year-old boy.
Emmanuel Krishan, Deputy CEO of PD Hinduja Sindhi Hospital fears that if conditions remain the same, there will be soon a shortage of platelets. He said, “We are witnessing a proper surge in dengue cases since late August and we are yet to witness a drop in the cases ,” Till now the cases have been manageable, he added. Change in weather also plays a part in mosquito breeding. Mr. Madhusudhan, Programme officer, Department of Health, BBMP said, “Unexpected changes in weather, heavy rains, water clogging, and unhygienic living conditions of people make them more prone to get infected.” He added that they were taking the situation very seriously and were trying to control it through proper waste management, spraying of pesticides in dengue-prone areas, etc.
Dengue fever is a rapidly emerging mosquito-borne viral disease in recent years. Dr Hitesh Kundu, an expert physician said that in South East Asia Region (SEAR), India falls into category A of dengue fever, which can lead to major health problems causing hospitalization and sometimes death. Dr Kundu added, “Presence of chronic illnesses like bronchial asthma, diabetes, patients on steroids or anticoagulants makes the general population more vulnerable to dengue fever.” He explained that complications of dengue include acute hepatitis, acute renal failure, pulmonary edema, pleural effusion etc. It can be prevented by a dengue vaccine (Dengvaxia), insect repellents (citronella oil, lemon eucalyptus oil), insecticide treated mosquito nets and thermal fogs.
Bangalore has reported more than 4,000 dengue cases till early September intensifying BBMP’s work, told Mr Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka minister for Family and Health Welfare in a meeting.
