Two dengue hotspots in Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 3 (IANS) Nearly 38 per cent of the dengue cases in the past 30 days in Lucknow have been reported from areas under the Aliganj and Chander Nagar community health care centres (CHCs), according to an analysis of data issued by the health department.

In this time span, 652 dengue cases were reported, with Aliganj CHC accounting for the highest number (136).

The CHC caters to patients from Aliganj, Nirala Nagar and Mahanagar.

Five people have been getting infected here daily.

A similar situation has been observed in the Alambagh and Sharda Nagar areas, which fall under the Chander Nagar CHC.

Here, with a rate of four people getting infected daily, they account for 112 cases.

Other areas that have reported a high number of dengue cases include Sarojini Nagar (69), Indira Nagar (62), Chinhat (47) and NK Road (37).

Health officials said reasons for the spike were vacant plots and terrace gardens.

Accumulated water in trays behind refrigerators and coolers is another cause for the spike.

In other areas, stagnant water in discarded items like tires, tubes and coconut shells has caused infections.

District Malaria Officer (DMO) Ritu Srivastava said: “Chander Nagar, Aliganj and Indira Nagar have high dengue cases because they are newly developed areas. People here have created small gardens on their roofs, but they do not clean the water that accumulates there, creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Besides, when our teams visit these areas for a survey, people do not cooperate with us.”

Mosquito population control is the only way to check vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.

LMC and health authorities need to carry out fogging and anti-larva drive on war-footing, particularly in the hotspot areas.