Dengue claimed 28 lives in three years in Gujarat
Updated: May 16th, 2024
While Gujarat’s dengue numbers seem to be falling regularly, the state still lost 28 lives to the vector-borne disease between 2021 and 2023, officials state.
According to data from the health and family welfare department of the Gujarat government, field teams tested 92,560 serum samples in 2021; 90,945 in 2022, 1,54,797 in 2023, and have tested 38,197 in the first four months of 2024.
Of these, 10,983 (11.86%), 6,682 (7.35%), 7222 (4.66%) and 585 (1.53%) came back positive for the disease in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Fatalities have also fallen, from 14 in 2021, to seven each in 2022 and 2023, to zero for the first four months of 2024.
Officials credit house to house surveys and other measures being undertaken by the government for this downward trend, but also acknowledge that “dengue season” is still a few months away even though National Dengue Day is commemorated on May 16 each year.
Dr Mukesh Kapdiya at the health department in Gandhinagar told Gujarat Samachar: “Cases of dengue hit a peak in September. However, in keeping with the theme for National Dengue Day 2024—Dengue Prevention: Our Responsibility for a Safer Tomorrow—the health department is doing a house-to-house survey to check.”
Adding that 6.5-65% of all cases arise in urban areas, he said, “We will educate people and raise awareness about the spread of the disease. We also remind people not to allow water to stagnate in and around their homes.”
The anopheles mosquito, which spreads viral diseases such as malaria and dengue, lay their eggs in stagnant water. Typical symptoms of dengue include fever, stomach ache, eye pain, fatigue, vomiting and further bleeding. Severe dengue can be fatal.
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