STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The rainy season is here and it is during this time of the year when mosquitoes thrive in stagnant water, leading to the spread of diseases like dengue. Assam is seeing a rise in dengue cases. This year, dengue has started spreading much earlier than the usual time of this disease. Like last year, this year too, the highest number of cases has so far been reported from Karbi Anglong. A special team from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has rushed to Karbi Anglong to take stock of the dengue situation there.
So far, 320 dengue cases have been reported in Assam this year. More than 50% of these cases have been reported in Diphu and its neighbouring areas. Another alarming fact is that along with dengue, Japanese encephalitis (JE) is also slowly raising its head. Already two persons have died in Assam due to JE while one person has died in Diphu due to dengue. The seasonal attack of dengue usually peaks between July and September each year. However, this year cases of this vector-borne disease have been reported from June.
The symptoms of dengue are high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea, swollen glands and joints, muscle pain, rashes on the body etc. According to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the virus is evolving dramatically in the Indian subcontinent. The dengue virus is primarily transmitted from person to person through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The dengue-spreading mosquito is most active in the morning. So, people should remain vigilant in the morning hours. The mosquito typically lays eggs in stagnant water, in containers that hold water like buckets, bowls, animal dishes, flower pots, and vases.
Health department sources said, “There is no need to panic. We have adequate medicines and ICU beds to tackle the viral fever. A team from GMCH has been sent to Diphu. If required, we will send teams to other places also. We are alert and ready to deal with the dengue situation.”
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