Telangana: Dengue cases on the rise, 20

Hyderabad: With more than 20 dengue cases being reported daily at the Fever Hospital, the state authorities are once again on alert.

Despite the dry spell, the numbers are at an all-time high. While the total cases in September were 841, the first six days of October have already seen 80 cases.

Experts say that the numbers are rising because the the GHMC is not cleaning up the core city areas. Also, the dry day system is not being followed as was being done earlier, they said.

Senior pediatrician Dr Altaf Naseem said, “The last 15 days has again seen a rise in dengue cases. It is high time that the government comes up with an effective method of notifying these cases and understands the severity of the disease. The notification process has to be simplified and district health officers have to understand that private hospitals are also bearing an equal burden of these cases.”

Fever Hospital is treating many patients as out-patients. A senior doctor said, “The number of patients has not seen any decline. We are only admitting those cases which are severe. The others, who can be treated at home, are being given medicines and asked to come for follow-ups.”

Doctors are, meanwhile, asking the various municipalities in the state to intensify their efforts and tackle the core areas which have been left out due to which the cases are continuously high.

Areas in the city like Tolichowki, LB Nagar, Santoshnagar, old city pockets of Barkas and Ibrahimpatnam and many others need to be targeted effectively. A senior GHMC officer said,

“The dry day concept of emptying all bins and allowing them to completely dry had been effective in the last two years. That system must be strictly implemented again which is not happening, hence the cases are increasing.”