LUCKNOW: Dengue cases registered a sharp spike, ringing alarm bells with 24 people testing positive for the vectorborne disease in the city on Saturday — the highest single day spike this year. The spate in dengue cases is relatable with the population explosion of mosquitoes after a heavy downpour last week left behind pools of stagnant water across the city.
The surge in cases on Saturday took the city’s dengue tally to 238 this month, of which 99 (42%) have been reported in just nine days after heavy rainfall on September 16 caused extensive waterlogging in the state capital.
The water puddles and rotting garbage piles that remained unattended for days turned into havens for mosquito breeding. Fresh rainfall in the past two days has made conditions conducive for the mosquito population burgeoning.
Ppatients diagnosed with dengue on Saturday visited community health centres at Turiyaganj, Aliganj, Nawal Kishore Road, Chandarnagar, Silver Jubilee, Chinhat and Indiranagar with complaints of high fever and pain in joints.
One of them – a 24-year-old woman – had to be admitted to Lokbandhu hospital, while others were prescribed medicines and are recovering at home.
Vector-Borne Diseases Unit in-charge Dr KP Tripathi said, “All the government hospitals have been directed to conduct ELISA tests of patients coming with fever so that dengue cases can be identified at the earliest.”
Meanwhile, the health department and Lucknow Municipal Corporation carried out mosquito control measures in Alamnagar, Saadatganj, Faizullaganj, Triveninagar, Shardanagar and Raja Bazar.
One fresh Covid case; 19k take jab
As many as 19,329 people across the district completed their two-dose vaccination course after taking the second jab on Saturday. This takes the count of fully vaccinated people to 10.5 lakh. Government booths catered to second-dose beneficiaries only, while private hospitals administered both first and second shots. Meanwhile, only one new Covid-19 case was recorded on Saturday, while six patients recovered, bringing down the number of active cases to 24.
