Dengue alert in GHMC, people urged to take precautions

Hyderabad:  The health department on Friday has issued an alert urging people, especially in Hyderabad and surrounding areas, to be cautious and start taking precautions against dengue. In the past two months, the areas under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have witnessed a total of 158 dengue cases. The spike in the vector-borne disease in […]

Hyderabad:  The health department on Friday has issued an alert urging people, especially in Hyderabad and surrounding areas, to be cautious and start taking precautions against dengue.

In the past two months, the areas under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have witnessed a total of 158 dengue cases. The spike in the vector-borne disease in Hyderabad is a cause of concern, as south west monsoons, the season when dengue cases usually increase, is yet to fully set in across Telangana.

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“Out of the 158 dengue positive cases, about 103 cases were admitted in government hospitals while the rest of the 55 cases were reported from private hospitals. Almost all the reported dengue cases were from slum settlements in Hyderabad,” said Director of Public Health (DPH), Dr G Srinivasa Rao.

As part of the response to the rise in dengue cases, the health department in collaboration with GHMC has conducted 182 health camps in slum settlements and over 10,000 individuals were given treatment. A total of 18,000 households were surveyed and 64 water samples collected from different locations have tested positive for dengue, he said.

For the past two years, apart from rise in Covid infections, areas under GHMC are also witnessing a rise in dengue cases. In fact, last year during the monsoon season, between July and August, over 1900 positive dengue cases were reported from across Telangana while Hyderabad reported close to 500 dengue positive cases.

The Breteau Index (Bl), used to measure the population of Aedes aegypti mosquito for dengue virus transmission in an area, in Hyderabad was 46 per cent, which was also the highest in the State.
“The monsoon season is about to start and this is the right time for people at an individual level to start taking measures and get rid of stagnant water in their households,” Dr Rao added.

Top districts with dengue cases last year:

Hyderabad: 447
Khammam: 128
Rangareddy: 115
Medchal: 89
Adilabad: 68
Bhadradri Kothagudem: 48
Nizamabad: 39
Nirmal 35.

Top districts with high larval density: Breteau Index (measured as the number of positive containers per 100 houses inspected, which contain larval breeding)

Hyderabad: 46 per cent
Wanaparthy: 44.6 per cent
Medchal and Nirmal: 41 per cent

Dengue in TS:

In 2019: 13,000
In 2020: 2173
In 2021: Over 1900 (between January to August)
In 2022: 158 (January to May)