Telangana: Door-to-door survey soon to fight dengue

Hyderabad: The government on Monday decided to undertake a door-to-door survey to create awareness about dengue in light of rising cases mostly in Greater Hyderabad as well as a few other parts of the state.

Dengue cases have been on the upswing in the last two months, with August alone recording as many as 1,827 cases in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. Together with 542 cases in July, outpatient departments at hospitals have been working at full capacity for the past two months.

On Monday, health minister T Harish Rao and municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao held a video conference with officials of the two departments and issued orders to launch the door-to-door survey to check dengue.

Patients with dengue symptoms would be be taken to 'basti dawakhanas' for tests. Also, public representatives, officials of other departments, social workers, school and college students would be involved in the house-to-house survey and cleanliness programmes for 10 minutes every Sunday.

"Dengue cases surge every few years and this time there has been an onslaught of cases. Anyone suffering from fever must not ignore it. They must visit the nearest government hospital and get themselves tested," Harish Rao said in an official statement.

KTR also ordered municipalities seeing large number of cases to come up with a prevention plan.

Around 1,600 GHMC staffers would go from house to house and sanitise areas recording high number of cases.

"All necessary equipments, reagents, medicines and platelet separation machines are available in government dispensaries," KTR said Also, blood donation camps would be set up in Hyderabad and surrounding areas on September 17 to ensure that supply of platelets is adequate in the city. During the door-to-door survey, Covid booster dose would also be administered.