DIMAPUR — The humid weather coupled with monsoon rains and poor community participation have contributed to the surge in dengue cases in Dimapur.
The dengue cumulative number for this year, from June till Oct.5, is 751confirmed cases out of which 504 are from the three districts of Dimapur, Niuland and Chümoukedima, and 247 imported cases.
The month of September reported the highest dengue cases with 460, while from October 1 to the 5th, 77 cases have been confirmed, District Vector Borne Diseases (DVBD) consultant, Peter Sangtam, told Eastern Mirror on Thursday.
In June, eight dengue cases were reported which increased to 58 in July, 148 in August and to 460 cases in September.
However, according to Sangtam, till date no death has been recorded out of the Elisa-confirmed positive dengue patients.
The rapid surge in dengue cases can be attributed to lack of efforts and participation from the community towards source reduction, Sangtam said, while underlining that the focus of every household should be on source reduction and to observe at least one day in a week as dry day.
According to the DVBD consultant, Chümoukedima, Nagarjan (Kuda village) and the main urban areas in Dimapur continue to report the highest number of cases.
Poor sanitation and lifestyle contribute to breeding of dengue mosquitoes, so the community should cooperate and participate hand in hand with the government as the department has been continuously going around, creating awareness among the people and undertaking fogging, he said.
He lamented that even after continuous and relentless efforts through awareness programmes, people are still not practicing source reduction. While expressing optimism that the dengue cases will fall by October, Sangtam reiterated that this will happen only with the community participation.
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