Cuttack: The municipal corporation has geared up to take planned action to contain the spread of dengue in the city.
The Cuttack collector chalked out the plan after a review of the dengue situation on Thursday.
The reports, presented by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, indicated that dengue had spread to eleven of the 59 wards with 24 cases reported so far.
Collector Arvind Agarwal directed officials for concerted action to tackle dengue.
City health officer Umesh Panigrahi said "a multi-pronged action plan" was initiated on Friday with focus on the wards, from where the dengue cases had been reported. "We started with ward No. 49, from where 14 of the 24 cases had been reported. The measures will be followed up in a phased manner in the other 10 wards, from where one case each has been reported so far," Panigrahi said.
He said that according to the action plan, the measures included intensive bush-cutting, clearance of blockages in drains, spraying of anti-larvicide oil and intensive mosquito repellent fogging. "The measures will be followed by release of mosquito larvae-eating fish in the drains," he said.
Jagatpur Industrial Estate in ward No. 49 has been an area of concern because of accumulating of rainwater for the lack of proper drainage channels.
The outbreak of dengue has been attributed to poor hygiene and sanitation as well as accumulation of rainwater.
Official reports said the places from where dengue cases had been reported so far included Jagatpur (ward No. 49), Mahanadi Vihar (47), College Square (38), SCB Medical College and Hospital campus (35), Mahtab Road (31), Rajabaicha (30), Rausapatna (27), Bepari Sahi (25), Madhusudan Nagar (16), Alisha Bazar (12) and Sheikh Bazar (10).
Official sources said door-to-door checks were also on in the areas, from where dengue cases had been reported. "As part of fever surveillance, the door-to-door checks are intended to be on the lookout for persons suffering from fever for three or more days to make sure they are checked for dengue to ensure timely treatment in cases found positive," chairman of the civic body's standing committee for health Ranjan Kumar Biswal said.
