Key Takeaways
- The Tripura health department issued a dengue alert after cases spiked in Sepahijala villages.
- A total of 182 dengue patients have been admitted, with one death under investigation.
- Authorities are targeting Aedes mosquitoes by removing stagnant water and conducting awareness drives.
Agartala: Tripura health department issued a dengue alert across the state following a sudden outbreak in the bordering villages of Sepahijala district.
So far, 182 people have been brought to hospitals for treatment, said Director Preventive Medicine Dr Supriya Mallik on Friday.
“There is no reason for panic, as government has taken all efforts to prevent the disease,” he assured, admitting the death of one Subhas Sarkar (72) of Dhanpur, Sonamura, in a private hospital after suffering from a high fever and loose motion three days ago but saying, “We are re-investigating the reports to ascertain whether he died of Dengue or other infections.”
Dr Mallik, however, stated that the experts visited the village and found the presence of Aedes mosquitoes in the house. The breeding of Aedes mosquitoes is increasing due to the storage of water in open places and the detection of a huge number of larvae in stored water and rubber plantations.
“Necessary arrangements have been made to stop this breeding of mosquitoes to tackle the number of dengue cases. Dengue was first reported in the state in 2015 and, until now, has primarily affected travellers coming from Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai. However, due to mutations in vectors in the changing environment, Dengue becomes a threat to Tripura,” he pointed out.
Dr Mallik informed as many as 37 Dengue patients from Dhanpur were admitted to the Agartala Govt Medical College hospital, and they were shifted to a dedicated Covid hospital. There were 158 positive cases of dengue in Dhanpur, while around 24 cases were detected in Kanchanmala, Mohanpur, and Bamutia areas of West Tripura.
To address the situation, the health department has intensified door-to-door testing, conducted awareness drives against dengue, and held medical camps in the affected areas. The state government has already deployed medical teams in all border land ports in the state to keep a vigil on travellers from Bangladesh, among other measures.
