Dengue cases on rise in UP’s Gorakhpur

Several parts of Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district have reported an uptick in dengue cases. Gorakhpur has reported 194 dengue cases so far this year, district malaria officer Dr Angad Kumar Singh said.
However, no deaths have been reported till now due to dengue, which is spread through the bite of infected aedes mosquitoes.
According to Dr Angad Kumar Singh, urban areas are the most affected by this vector-borne disease, as 122 dengue cases have been found there. Most of the cases have been reported from the Sheshpur and Ghasi Katra areas.
“The health department teams are visiting the areas affected by the disease. The health department has made an appeal to the people not to accumulate water in and around their homes and workplaces as aedes mosquitoes spread in clean water,” said Dr Singh.
People are being told to clear water from coolers, broken utensils, unused tyres and so on.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Regional Medical Research Centre Gorakhpur (RMRC), and the health department are carrying out joint operations to capture adult mosquitoes and larvae to study them to control dengue in the future.
A senior scientist at ICMR-RMCR, Dr Hiravati Deval said that a study on dengue is being conducted by an ICMR team in Gorakhpur and other parts of Purvanchal since 2015 to check the type of virus active here.
A resident of Mirjapur, Mahesh Kumar Sharma, said that his son had been suffering from dengue and later recovered. A health team visited his house and inspected the cooler, fridge, and flower pots and advised him not to accumulate water in and around the house, he added.