At 109, Ghaziabad dengue cases highest in 4 years, scrub typhus a worry too

GHAZIABAD: The district has been reporting alarming numbers in terms of vector-borne diseases. Ghaziabad so far has reported 109 dengue cases, the highest in four years. At 34 this season, scrub typhus cases too are at an all-time high. The number of malaria patients, however, stands at 11.
Of the 109 dengue cases, 11 were confirmed on Tuesday. While 89 of the patients are from Ghaziabad itself, the remaining had come here for treatment from other districts.In 2018, Ghaziabad had reported 68 cases, which increased to 88 in 2019. In 2020, there were just 15 cases.

Scrub typhus cases have also been a cause for concern. Of the 34 cases this year, five were reported on Tuesday. Last year, the district had reported just 2 cases. Before that, the health department did not have specific data on scrub typhus.
Officials said they had formed four teams for surveillance of the areas from where a considerable number of cases are being reported. Officials of the municipal corporation, rapid response team (RRT), health centres and the malaria department have been conducting household surveys to check on fever patients.
The door-to-door survey, which was to end in a couple of days, has now been extended to the end of this month in view of the rising numbers.
Each of the four teams has been assigned a specific job. “For instance, the malaria wing is engaged in carrying out anti-larvae and fogging exercises in 50 buildings in the vicinity of a patient’s house. The team of doctors, Asha and anganwadi workers from the health centres is going around houses and handing out medicines. The rapid response team is doing contact tracing of fever patients, while the civic body is involved in fogging activity in the localities,” said RK Gupta, the district surveillance officer.
Dr Gupta said that from Tuesday, the health department had started collecting the details of all fever patients coming to the 57 government medical facilities in the district — three hospitals, four community health centres and 50 urban PHCs. The aim, he added, is to launch dedicated campaigns in areas from where maximum cases are being reported.
Until now, the department had been noting down details of only those who were being admitted to hospitals with dengue, malaria or scrub typhus symptoms. So far, 20,000 people have been tested for malaria, while over 480 have given their samples for dengue. A total of 770 typhoid and 35 scrub typhus tests have been conducted.
In the household survey that the government carried out from September 6, more than 2,200 patients were found with fever till Tuesday. Besides, 20-25 patients are being admitted daily to hospitals. Of these, about 35% are children, officials said.
The officials clarified that the admissions were more of a precautionary measure and many of the people were being discharged after tests.
Officials said the situation was “under control”. “Viral fever spreads rapidly during the monsoons and people are being made aware of it. However, the situation is under control as most patients are recovering and no mortality has been reported so far. The department also has a sufficient quantity of medicines,” said Bhavtosh Shankhdhar, the chief medical officer.