Kerala Dengue Spike: Govt Issues Alert In 7 Districts, To Hold Weekly 'Dry Day' Campaign

The administration has also planned to hold a weekly dry day campaign, cleaning public places, houses, and removing stagnant water, according to the state's health minister.

(Representational Image)

The Kerala government issued an alert against the spread of Dengue fever in seven districts on Tuesday. State Health Minister Veena George said dengue cases were on the rise in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts, news agency PTI reported. 

The administration has also planned to hold a weekly dry day campaign, cleaning public places, and homes, and removing stagnant water, according to George.

"Other districts should also remain vigilant and engage in eliminating mosquito breeding sites," she said in a statement, PTI reported. 

Because the state has been receiving monsoon rains, which may create water logging in several regions, the minister has urged all district officials to enhance dengue prevention measures.

A high-level meeting was conducted, presided over by the minister, to examine the situation in several districts.

"All districts have been asked to follow the action plan and a proper evaluation will be conducted. The cleaning fund for each ward in the local bodies must be utilised effectively," the minister said, PTI reported. 

Local self-government bodies were given instructions to inspect construction sites, drainage, and other potential waterlogging and mosquito breeding places.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has recently spread all across the world. Female mosquitos, mostly Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus, spread the dengue virus, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). 

These mosquitos also transmit the chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. Dengue fever is found throughout the tropics, with local differences in risk determined by climate, socioeconomic, and environmental factors.

Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family, and the virus has four separate but closely related serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4).

While the majority of dengue cases are asymptomatic or have moderate symptoms, the disease can cause a severe, flu-like sickness that affects infants, young children, and adults but rarely results in death. Symptoms typically persist 2-7 days after an incubation period of 4-10 days following an infected mosquito bite, according to WHO. 

(With Inputs From PTI)