On November 2, the Union Health Ministry sent central teams of experts to nine states and union territories amidst rising cases of dengue. The teams have been sent to Kerala, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. As per GoI’s statement, a total of fifteen states and UTs have been contributing 86% of the country’s total cases of dengue till October 31.
These States/UTs are Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi & Jammu & Kashmir. A total of 15 States/UTs reporting their maximum cases in the current year; these states contribute 86% of the country’s total dengue cases till 31st Oct: Govt of India
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2021
The teams comprise experts from National Centre for Disease Control and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. The official memorandum sent to the directors general of health services and principal secretaries (Health) of the states and UTs stated, “It has been decided by the competent authority to depute central teams to the identified states to assist the state governments by providing technical guidance, including public health measures, for managing the ongoing outbreak of dengue.”
Mansukh Mandaviya, Health Minister, had directed the Union Health Secretary on Monday to identify the states with a high active caseload of the disease and send expert teams to provide support.
Notably, in Delhi alone, 1,530 cases have been reported so far in 2021. In addition, 1,200 cases were reported in the last month itself, making it the highest count in October in the last four years. Apart from dengue, 160 cases of malaria and 81 cases of chikungunya have also been reported in the national capital till October 30. The reports suggest that the government of Delhi has directed state-run hospitals to use 1/3 of the Covid beds for the treatment of dengue, malaria, and chikungunya patients.
Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes of the Aedes species. After contracting the disease, the infection leads to fever, body ache, nausea, vomiting, and in severe cases, internal bleeding or a fatal drop in blood pressure.
