Kolkata: There are around 2,000 dengue patients in Bengal at present, Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi said on Tuesday, maintaining that the number of cases is on a decline.
Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, he said the situation will be under “full control” in the next few weeks.
“Dengue reached its peak in the state two weeks ago and it has started to decline gradually. At the moment, about 2,000 people in the state are infected. It will decrease further in the coming days. So there is no reason to panic, but we need to remain vigil,” Dwivedi said.
He urged people to go for blood tests only if they have fever. Dwivedi said the dengue outbreak has mostly affected the suburban areas of the state.
He said that 130 such areas have been identified and measures are being taken.
A total of 5 lakh mosquito nets, including 1 lakh medicated mosquito nets, are being distributed among the poor by the state government, he added.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed sources, Kolkata has recorded more than 1,000 dengue cases in the last one week. According to sources, around 35,000 dengue cases were reported this season in Bengal until September 20 with Kolkata and North 24-Parganas in the southern part of the state being the worst hit. Sources said that North 24-Parganas was the worst affected with over 8000 cases being reported followed by Kolkata (4400), Murshidabad (4200), Nadia (4230) and Hooghly (3083).
A senior health official said that as Bangladesh is witnessing a major outbreak, people are carrying the virus to the city. “Mosquitoes biting an infected person may spread the disease further. The strains of India and Bangladesh may also be different,” said the second official. The National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control data says that Bengal registered the highest dengue cases in the country last year (67,271).
The Bengal government has already announced the cancellation of leave of all the officials and also the employees associated with dengue management. Intensive cleaning will be carried out at all the hotspots and all the state and Central government institutions will be asked to conduct proper cleaning. Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi held a meeting on Monday and directed the officials to ensure fever clinics and dengue testing facilities remain operational 24x7 at government facilities in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders created ruckus outside Swasthya Bhawan over dengue issue. A scuffle broke out between the BJP leaders and the police when the former were not allowed to enter Swasthya Bhawan on Tuesday morning.