Srinagar: With J&K witnessing an upward spike in Dengue cases over the past month, the Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday said that it was taking aggressive measures to bring the caseload down.
A senior health official said over 1000 cases of Dengue have been confirmed in J&K over the past month, the numbers rising continuously.
The Jammu region, the official said, contributes to nearly 70 percent of cases, he said, adding that many cases detected in the private sector were going unreported, until they reached hospitals. He said many people in Kashmir division have also been found infected with this vector-borne disease although testing for Dengue is “rare” in the region.
Additional Chief Secretary J&K Government (Health and Medical Education), Vivek Bhardwaj said the government was taking “aggressive measures and fast tracking efforts to combat the situation”.
“We are increasing our testing capacity and treatment system,” he said. He said that health teams in all districts have been directed to increase awareness and decrease response teams and that the department had increased manpower and resources to deal with the situation. “The municipal bodies have also been roped in to control the proliferation of dengue mosquitoes,” Bhardwaj said.
Meanwhile Epidemiologist J&K, Dr Talat Ghani said that Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have been constituted in all districts of J&K. She said in the Kashmir division, 17 cases have been confirmed, all having a history of travel to outside of the division. “Dengue mosquito does not survive in Kashmir but many people who are coming back from outside develop symptoms and are found to have Dengue upon testing,” she said.