About 190 places identified as dengue malaria-prone zones

kolkata: As many as 190 places across Bengal have been identified as dengue malaria-prone zones, out of which 10 are in Kolkata. State Health department has asked all the concerned civic bodies and district officials to carry out a home-to-home survey in those places falling under the identified spots.

The civic bodies have been directed to carry out drives against vector-borne diseases in the houses situated in the dengue-malaria prone zones. The civic employees will collect larvae samples on a random basis from the houses, which are there in the affected zones. Mapping had been conducted by the district Health departments and the civic bodies to identify the spots where dengue malaria cases were reported in large numbers in the past few years. A survey was performed in all the districts, including the health districts. Apart from the city, there are around 22 places identified in North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly as dengue-malaria prone areas. All the concerned civic bodies have been asked to collect samples from the houses in the affected areas on a daily basis.

In the past two years, the dengue malaria cases remained comparatively low in Bengal. The health experts apprehend that the number of vectorborne diseases infected cases may go up this year. Around 300 patients have been infected either with dengue or malaria in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) so far this year. The number may go up after the monsoon.

Health department also directed all the hospitals to stock adequate numbers of testing kits ahead of monsoon season. State government has already cleared a fund of Rs 16.25 lakh for procuring kits. Initially, five hospitals will buy serotype testing kits. They are SSKM Hospital, North Bengal Medical College, Murshidabad Medical College, Midnapore Medical College and the School of Tropical Medicine. Each hospital will get around Rs 3.25 lakh for procuring kits.

Incidentally, various civic bodies are preparing a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen surveillance to check dengue and malaria this season. Anti dengue campaigns have already been initiated in different districts and also by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).