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PATNA: Patna has reported 1,844 cases of dengue till October 8, the highest since 2016, prompting the district administration and the city’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to issue guidelines on Monday on dengue prevention.

In an advisory, Patna’s district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told schools and colleges to ask children to wear protective, full-sleeved clothing, use mosquito net, repellent, maintain cleanliness and hygiene in rooms, not allow accumulation of stagnant water and regularly change the water of flower pot or vase.

Singh also advised the authorities to use sufficient anti-larvae chemicals, such as spray Temiphos, and maintain better cleanliness around educational institutions.

In a second advisory issued by AIIMS Patna, executive director Dr Gopal Krushna Pal asked people to time the use of Pyrethroid-based spray to coincide with the peak biting times of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is early morning or late afternoon. He also urged people to use mosquito repellent during the day.

Dr Pal’s advisory asked people to not allow water to collect near their house, underlining that mosquitos can fly up to 400 meters, usually breed in clean water collections in containers, tanks, disposables, junk materials in domestic and peri-domestic situations.

“Cover water containers in the house to prevent fresh egg laying by the infected mosquito, wear protective (full-sleeves shirt and pant) clothing during the day, use tight fitting screens or wire mesh on doors and windows, check clogged gutters, and flat housetop roof that may have poor drainage, change water at least twice a week in air coolers, bird baths, plant pots or drip tray, empty water bowls of pets daily, besides sleeping under a mosquito net,” said Dr Pal.

At a school level, Dr Pal said children should be provided with health education on all aspects of dengue, like what it was, how it spread, the role of mosquitoes, where and how they breed/rest, and how they could be controlled.

“School children should be trained on how to detect and eliminate the breeding of Aedes aegypti in and around the schools, in their homes and in the neighbourhood, besides wearing full sleeves shirts and full pants during day time,” said Dr Pal.

Dr Pal said the dengue fever begins abruptly after 4 to 7 days (range 3-14 days) of the bite of infected mosquito. Dengue fever, Dr Pal said, was an acute febrile illness of 2-7 days duration (sometimes with two peaks), with headache, retro-orbital pain, body or joint pain, rash, hemorrhagic manifestation and/or leucopenia.

“Bihar reported total 112 cases of dengue till August 31, and the figure had shot up to more than 16 times to reach 1838 within a month,” said Dr Pal, who cited data from the National Centre of Disease Control of the ministry of health and family welfare.

Ruchir writes on health, aviation, power and myriad other issues. An ex-TOI, he has worked both on Desk and in reporting. He over 25 years of broadcast and print journalism experience in Assam, Jharkhand & Bihar. ...view detail

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