West Bengal successful in controlling dengue: CM Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: More than 10,000 people have been affected with dengue of which 17 people have died, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in the state assembly. The chief minister who is also the health minister, however, claimed that the state’s performance in combating dengue was more effective compared to the world standard.
Stating the report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the chief minister said, the mortality rate is 1 percent when the state registered a mortality rate of only 0.2 percent.“When we know Aedis Aegypti is responsible for dengue and it has a specified treatment protocol this year. Aedis Albopictus- a new type of mosquito variant has been responsible for dengue. These mosquitoes bite the people in open spaces. Their bite leads to multi organ failure and it hardly give any chance for treatment,” the chief minister added.
The chief minister also said that North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Alipurduar are the three districts that have had the maximum number of dengue cases, while North 24 Parganas alone contributing more than half of those suffering from the vector borne disease.
However, the chief minister said that the state has taken many effective measures to contain and create awareness among the people and that helped in countering this vector borne disease effectively. “We have sanctioned Rs 500 crore instead of Rs 240 crore last year so that no one dies in dengue this year,” she added.
Illustrating the chief minister’s point minister of state for Health Chnadrima Bahttacharyay said, “The number of dengue detection centres in the state have gone up from 43 last year to 60. Around 184218 patients have had blood tests for dengue detection in comparison to 126404 last year. The sub divisional as well as the state general hospitals have been equipped with infrastructure for rendering dengue treatment. The department has ensured that the blood banks do not suffer from dearth of platelets which is the most important component of dengue treatment”.
As there are a number of districts that share border with Bangladesh, the chief minister said that the epidemic in Bangladesh has contributed in spreading the disease. "Bangaldesh has had over 50000 dengue cases this year with Jessore and Khuina being the worst affected. Both these places share its boundaries with North 24 Parganas and Nadia,” she added.
Banerjee has also constituted a high power committee led by Chief Secretary Malay De to monitor dengue situation in the state. The 791 gram panchayat and the 803 municipal areas have been earmarked as dengue prone and special measures are being taken.