New Delhi: In a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan informed that the Central team's investigation has found the majority of cases of viral fever and deaths among children in Firozabad district to have been caused by dengue.


"The Central Ream has observed that the majority of cases are due to Dengue while a few are because of Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis," the Union Health Minister wrote in his letter. 


"Vector Indices were also found to be high with house index and container index both above 50% in Firozabad district," he added.




(Photo Courtesy: ANI)

The Central team has recommended that all fever patients be screened for Dengue, Malaria Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis, ELISA based testing facilities be strengthened, activities related to fever survey, vector control and fever camps to continue as per micro plan, surveillance to be strengthened and admission facilities in the district hospital of Firozabad and neighbouring districts to be augmented.


Dengue and viral fever have claimed 51 lives in over a fortnight in the Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of people are also undergoing treatment for the diseases.


To tackle the issue, the Firozabad district administration is releasing about 25,000 mosquitofish that eat larvae of dengue-breeding mosquitoes in ponds to check the spread of the disease, a senior district official said on Monday.


District health officials have started releasing the fish, generically known as Gambusia, in ponds in urban as well as rural areas of the district, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dinesh Kumar Premi told news agency PTI.


Premi said the district administration is going with the experiment having seen its success earlier in Bareilly and Baduan districts.


The measure will also be effective against malaria, he added.


Recently, District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh had directed health and municipal corporation officials to conduct a door-to-door survey to drain out stagnant water from coolers, pots, and other utensils.


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Besides Ferozabad, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Nanak Saran had on Sunday informed that over 170 children have been admitted to the Motilal Nehru Hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj due to chronic diseases and viral fever like encephalitis and pneumonia.


“A few days back, when I did the inspection of the children's ward, there were 120 beds. We have received 171 patients. So, we have shifted 2-3 children in one bed,” said Dr. Saran.



“Cases of dengue are fewer here. Some chronic diseases like encephalitis and pneumonia where they need oxygen support are admitted here,” he added, as reported by ANI.


As per the report, amid an acute shortage of beds, at least three to four patients were seen on a single bed in the Motilal Nehru Hospital while some were undergoing treatment on mattresses laid on the ground.


With the floodwater receding in the flood-affected areas, multiple cases of chronic diseases and viral fever are being observed among the children in the state


(With inputs from agencies)