With onset of winters, dengue cases decline in Jalpaiguri dist

Jalpaiguri: The dengue graph in Jalpaiguri district has been declining since the beginning of winter. No new dengue cases have been reported in the last 7 days, bringing relief to the Jalpaiguri District Health Department.

The temperature has been dropping in the district over the past few days, prompting health authorities to consider the situation favourable.

Asim Halder, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Jalpaiguri district, explained: “Dengue is an insect-borne disease. Insects are mostly overcome in winter, which is why there are zero cases in the district. This is good news at the end of the year. However, the Health department’s programme to prevent mosquito-borne diseases will continue until December 31.”

According to the Jalpaiguri district Health department, 981 people have been infected with dengue since January 1 this year, with no reported deaths. In contrast, last year saw 3908 cases and 4 fatalities. Despite the significant decrease this year, the graph of infections was steadily rising from June onwards.

The Health department declared several areas in Maynaguri, Mal Bazar, Jalpaiguri Sadar, and Rajganj block as hotspots and implemented various programmes. Despite these efforts, dengue cases were prevalent in October and November. Hence, the dengue prevention programme is set to continue until December 31. Encouragingly, there have been no new cases in the last seven days. The Health department attributes this relief to the winter season, with temperatures ranging between 11 to 14 degrees Celsius in Jalpaiguri district during this period.