Dengue surge in Nagaland: NPF legislator urges Health depertment to take urgent action

KOHIMA — Naga People’s Front (NPF) legislator Achumbemo Kikon on Thursday urged the department of Health and Family Welfare to urgently tackle the surge in dengue cases in Nagaland.

He raised the issue of surging dengue and conjunctivitis cases during the zero hour, on the last day of the second session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

Kikon said the Health department has to gear up and more efforts need to be put in to address the rising cases of these diseases. He pointed out that Bhandari is also badly affected by dengue as it lies in the foothills.

There is a shortage of medical kits for testing, he said, adding that prompt initiative should be taken and adequate medicine supplied.

He also sought the increment of MLA’s meagre salary (INR 50,000 currently), saying that elected representatives don’t have enough money when the people approach for help.

Kikon further raised the issue of the non-availability of generators and inverters in the wards at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima and suggested creating more health workers posts to address acute manpower shortage issue.

Meanwhile, NLA Speaker Sharingain Longkumer informed that the salary of MLAs is being reviewed and that a committee is in consultation with the government and Finance department.

Health dept. closely monitoring dengue cases, says Paiwang

Minister of Health and Family Welfare P Paiwang Konyak said the department is closely monitoring and doing everything possible to help dengue patients.

Currently, there are 136 patients admitted at District Hospital, Mon, out of which 50 are dengue positive while others are having dengue-like symptoms.

Konyak also said people panic on hearing that there is no “proper medicine available for dengue”. As a result, they flock to hospitals even for slight dengue-like symptoms and prefer to stay in the hospital.

At District Hospital Dimapur (DHD), he said there are 80 dengue patients admitted as on September 13. The minister also said that, as per DHD record, the cases are gradually declining.

He further informed that fogging is being carried out in many places, especially in Dimapur and Mon districts, and that the public is demanding more such drive but the department prefers sanitation and cleanliness exercise.

“Keeping the surroundings dry and clean will not allow mosquitoes to lay the larva because even if we kill the mother mosquitoes by fogging we still have not killed the larva which hatches the mosquitoes. Besides fogging is done by chemicals and petrol and if that can kill the mosquitoes, it will also harm the humans,” he said.

In the case of patient with low platelet count from far off districts, they can be transferred to the Dimapur District Hospital or NIMSR Teaching Hospital, erstwhile NHAK, where plasma separation is possible, added Konyak.

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