Dengue scourge: 2 more deaths, 53 cases positive

BHUBANESWAR: The scourge of dengue continued unabated in Angul which reported two more deaths on Thursday. The toll has now risen to 17. Both the deaths, however, occurred in private hospitals of the City. While one death was reported from Apollo Hospitals, the other came in from Bibekananda Hospital. With 41 per cent samples testing positive, the fever continued to stalk the  MCL area of Angul. As on Thursday, 349 out of 845 samples sent for testing have come positive. On Thursday itself, 119 samples were tested at SCB and VSS Medical College and Capital Hospital and 53 were positive cases. Of the 93 samples tested in SCB, 42 samples were found dengue positive. At VSS Medical, 11 out of 20  samples were positive, indicating spread of the disease in western pockets. As many as 18 positive cases came in from Angul on Thursday, while seven each were reported from Jajpur and Dhenkanal. Sundargarh and Jharsuguda reported five positive cases each. The rest came in from Cuttack, Kendrapara, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Puri, Keonjhar, Balasore and Khurda districts. With as many as 193 positive cases, Angul struggles to tackle the situation as more and more cases pour in everyday. The Health Department which has been coordinating with other administrative departments of the State Government has been compelled to take up sensitisation from the grass roots to combat the situation. The School and Mass Education Department has decided to start the drive with school headmasters who will be made aware of the vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. School students will be sensitised during the assembly and FAQs and campaign materials will be distributed among the schools for this purpose. The Industries Department will take up the issue with all corporate houses for possible preventive measures and MCL has been asked to double its manpower for public health activities. Every major PSU and private company will be asked to put in place a public health wing. The Urban Development Department has been asked to take up focused intervention and prepare a checklist for the wards.