Bengaluru: With the state reeling under a sharp increase in dengue cases, the help lines set up for the purpose has not stopped ringing.
So far there have been some 717 calls to the helpline number 104 from across the State.
"The toll free number has been provided to inform us of any suspected cases or any fever cases that they have witnessed around their houses and we would also guide them about the precautions and need-based measures,” said Dr Narayan R, Deputy Director, EMRI. We would also inform the health officers concerned of these districts to survey that area, he added.
However, he clarified that the numbers in no way denote the actual dengue picture. "The helpline is for all kinds of fever cases and in no way depicts the real dengue picture. But it has been established to help citizens reach out to us and report any suspected case," he said.
"Anyone can call on this number for free and inform us about fever cases and then we would reach out to the health officials concerned. They can also call if they want to know about what are the precautions that need to be taken," Dr Narayan added.
He revealed that maximum number of calls were from Vijayapura, Kalaburagi and Chitradurga. However, only four calls were placed about suspected fever cases at the helpline.
He pointed out that there have been very calls from Bengaluru. “The people who are making the calls are mostly from rural areas as they do not know what to do, whereas in Bengaluru people generally go to the nearest hospital to get the treatment for the illness. Hence they seldom use helplines," he said.
He, however, urged the public to come forward and report suspected cases. He pointed out that being an IT hub, Bengaluru has lot of construction activities going on and these sites often breed mosquitoes.
“Sadly, people are not interested in reaching out and hence the reporting is less. Public commitment to the cases is not there. A city which has close to one crore population, naturally there will be cases and only people can tell us about it," he added.
