30 fresh cases of dengue reported in Jamshedpur, garbage still lay unattended

Jamshedpur: The steel city is on dengue alert following 30 fresh cases reported in the last 48 hours in the city. At present 40 patients have been admitted in several hospital and are undergoing treatment. This takes the official number of the viral disease in the steel city to 77.

Sahir Pall, East Singhbhum district officer for the Centre’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, who monitors vector-borne diseases, said they had sent 44 blood samples of suspected dengue patients admitted to steel city hospitals to the MGM Medical College’s microbiology department for confirmation.

“Of these 44, 16 cases reported positive on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday, six blood samples reported positive. So, these 22 patients, all city residents, added to the 55 we were already aware of, make the total number of dengue cases in Jamshedpur go up to 77,” Pall said.

The district administration has launched comprehensive measures to check the spread of the virus. The district health department, on the insistence of the district administration, has also sought help from corporate houses in its endeavor to arrest the outbreak.

Though all the three civic bodies are regularly convening meetings to counter dengue in the city but the heaps of garbage lying unattended, dumped on roads or overflowing from garbage containers are serving as breeding grounds for the phenomenal growth of mosquitoes causing dengue virus through out the city.

In most cases, the garbage and waste is overflowing for days as the concerned staff do not bother to remove it through the waste lifters. Areas like Jugsalai, Bagbera, Parsudih, Marine Drive, Sundernagar are worst hit.
Sources said that initially the fumigation campaign included the insecticide spray in all the areas under Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee, Mango Notified Area Committee and Jugsalai Municipality with focus on those sensitive localities with more dengue cases.

�Heaps of garbage and filth lie unattended in our locality but there is no one to listen. A drain is over flowing nearby our complex though I went to lodge a complained at Jugsalai Municipality but despite assurances the situation remains the same.

The stink and unhygienic atmosphere bothers commuters, especially pedestrians using footpaths along the roads. People inhale these particles and fell victim to various infectious diseases,� noted a resident of Jugsalai.

An official of Jugsalai Municipality on the condition of anonymity said that lack of adequate manpower and infrastructure are posing hurdle.

Bahadur Mardi a resident of Sundernagar opined �Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection.

The Dengue viruses are transmitted to humans through the bites of infective female Aedes mosquitoes which have good concentration in municipal areas. If preventive steps are not taken in time, the spread could acquire dangerous proportion�.