John Wilbert & Saurabh Singh
Port Blair, May 12: Several states in the country are grappling with an outbreak of dengue fever adding to the list, now there is also a possible surge in Dengue cases in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As per details, everyday large numbers of Dengue cases are being reported in various hospitals, even children are being detected Dengue positive.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, a senior officer of Directorate of Health Services today accepted that the Dengue cases are on the rise in A&N Islands. He said that the surge in Dengue cases is majorly seen in the South Andaman District, where 58 dengue fever cases out of 616 sample testing were reported in the last 04 months. Till now in May 2022, 16 cases have been reported in Port Blair.
The data are based on samples tested in GB Pant Hospital and ICMR lab for NS1 Antigen and ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) which helps to detect the dengue virus in the blood.
He urged islanders not to store water in open spaces for more than 07 days as it becomes the breeding ground for Aedes Mosquitoes and increases the risk of spreading Dengue in the area.
The data provided to Andaman Sheekha however does not show a clear picture infact all private hospitals are also witnessing a large number of Dengue cases in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, sadly those data are not included in final data of Directorate of Health Services.
Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus.
Surprisingly till now there is neither any official release issued in this regard by the DHS nor any advisory shared with media for public awareness.
