Mangalore, May 11: Many cases of dengue fever outbreak have been reported in different parts of the city.
Ghulam Dastagiri, an elderly resident of Melinamogaru decalares that they shut doors and windows after 5.00pm to prevent mosquitoes from entering home. His wife had a close brush with death when her health turned critical due to suspected dengue fever. Discharged from Athena Hospital a day ago, she complained of fatigue.
Suspected dengue fever in Melinamogaru near Attavar-Caprigudda was first noticed in March, when Premnath Boloor’s wife and child were treated for dengue at a private hospital.
Within a week, as many as six suspected cases were reported and Boloor’s sister-in-law was admitted on May 9, Thrusday.However the spread of dengue fever had more to do with ignorance, as multi-purpose workers deputed by MCC and the Malaria Control Cell(MCC) were to find out.
Many residents appears to have a malaria-mindset, says activist Suresh Shetty who accompanied MCC’s multipurpose workers on their door-to door visits. By boiling water and staying behind closed doors after 5 pm, the residents believed that they would be immune, he says.
MCC’s health officer Dr.Sudarshan say that the mosquito Aedes Aegypti which transmits dengue, thrives in small water bodies like flower pots, refrigerators among others and bite during the day.On Friday multi-purpose workers were seen conveying the same message to residents.
Dr.Sudarshan says that there have been no confirmed cases yet.MCC has initiated an ‘ELISA’ procedure for the diagnosis of dengue infections and was on its toes as the ‘NS1 antigen test’ for dengue had been found positive in all these cases.MCC also slap notices on hospitals for not bringing cases which tested positive to the NS1 antigen, to their notice.
MCC has initiated spraying of the area on Friday and plan to initiate fogging.
