There has been a significant rise in the number of dengue cases in the State as compared to the previous year. While 2019 saw a total of 4,931 cases, 2018 had seen 3,972 cases.
Strikingly, the majority of dengue cases are being reported from urban areas, contrary to popular belief that the vector-borne disease is reported mostly from tribal and rural areas. Guntur, Visakhapatnam, and Kakinada stand at the forefront in urban areas where the maximum dengue cases were reported.
Visakhapatnam district alone made up for 1,201 dengue cases in 2019. East Godavari district reported 557 cases, while 894 cases were reported from Guntur district.
In 2017, there were 4,925 cases reported from across the State, similar to the scenario in 2019. Visakhapatnam consistently reported the most number of dengue cases, with 2,480 cases being reported in 2018.
“A door-to-door study conducted in Visakhapatnam revealed that there was stagnation of water in many houses. The stagnated water was found mostly in refrigerator trays and flower pots. In some other places in Prakasam district, water would be supplied only once in three days. This led to people storing water for many days. Areas where construction activity was picking up also saw a rise in dengue cases. These places became new breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The medical and health department has chalked out plans to work in coordination with line departments like Municipal Administration, Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply,” said an official requesting not to be named.
Focus on urban areas
The focus would be on information education and communication (IEC), water supply, mapping of cases, etc. As of now, daily reports from medical colleges are being pooled at the epidemic cell at the State office. The hotspots would be sent to the district collector, district medical and health officer (DMHO), and district malaria officer (DMO) concerned as and when the cases are reported. Special focus would be on urban areas in the near future, the official said.
In comparison, the number of malaria cases has come down significantly. While the total cases reported in 2017 were 16,972, it was 6040 in 2018. It has come down further to 2,940 in 2019, sources said. Based on the data of the last 10-12 years, the officials found that the malaria cases have come down to one-third of the cases reported a decade ago. There is a drop in the malaria cases from tribal areas too. This became possible due to many factors, including IEC. Both malaria and dengue are notified diseases.
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