West Bengal health department identifies five districts as most dengue-prone

The West Bengal Health Department has identified five districts as the most dengue-prone in the state, said officials on Aug 31.

The continued weather unpredictability and rainfall have kept the state health department most worried, as dengue cases and dengue-related deaths have increased in certain districts.

Going by the number of dengue-affected people in the last month as well as during the current monsoon, the state health department has identified five districts as the most dengue-prone.

These five districts are the state capital of Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad.

“Besides dengue, instances of Plasmodium Falciparum, which is the deadliest form of malaria that can badly affect the kidneys, have also been reported from these districts,” said a state health department official.

According to him, the number of new dengue-affected people in the state in the last one month till August 30 had been reported at around 1,000 and the total figure since the beginning of the year, or to be more precise since the beginning of the current monsoon, is over 3,000. During the current year, 10 dengue-related deaths have been reported.

At the same time, a state health department official added that the total number of malaria cases reported in the state during the current year is over 5,000, a substantial portion of which is Plasmodium Falciparum.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has given clear instructions to all hospital authorities and doctors to properly quote dengue-affected figures instead of suppressing or underquoting figures, a complaint which was rampant during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime.

"Clear instructions have been given to all concerned to mention the right disease. There is no need to mention dengue or malaria cases as ‘unknown fever’. The previous state government always underquoted the affected or death count, where the hospital authorities and doctors were forced to report dengue cases as ‘unknown fever’. But we are asking them not to hide anything. What is there to hide? If there is dengue, it will definitely be dealt with. There is no reason to be afraid when doctors write dengue. If it is dengue, they will write dengue. If not, they will not write,” said CM Adhikari.

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