Tripura recorded highest number dengue cases in 2021 in comparison to previous three years. The sudden spurt of dengue especially in Gomati and Unakoti district rang an alarm bell.
“Tripura had recorded 127 Dengue cases in 2017, 100 in 2018, 109 in 2019 and the figure came down to only 24 in 2020. But, this year till Nov 10, the figure shot up to 255,” said State Surveillance Officer Dr. Deep Kumar Debbarma at a press conference on Wednesday.
He said total 1750 samples have been tested so far in the current year. Among them, 250 persons have been detected positive with Dengue.
“Out of 255 persons, 46 samples have been confirmed at State Referral Lab- Agartala Government Medical College. The remaining cases have been confirmed in Antigen tests”, he told the media, adding that the high positivity rate of Dengue was a matter of concern.
Sharing details of the last four months, the State Surveillance Officer said total seven Dengue cases were recorded in August, 20 in September, 58 cases were confirmed in October and 161 cases till afternoon of November 10.
He said that the positivity rate was 7.48 percent in August and the figure got increased to almost 24.24 percent. He, however, mentioned that the number of cases had increased as there was a rise in the number of tests following aggressive screening.
“Out of 161 cases in November, 76 cases have been reported from Gomati district, 27 in Sepahijala district, one each in North and South Tripura districts and 56 cases in Unakoti district,” the State Surveillance Officer said adding that Gomati and Unakoti districts had contributed almost 70 percent cases.
In Killa of Gomati district where maximum number of cases are being reported, majority of the Dengue-affected persons are workers of rubber plantation, he said.
“Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes spread Dengue and they are day biter. As per preliminary assessment, the possibile source of the dengue is mosquito bites from the rubber plantation,” Dr. Debbarma said after visiting some of the affected areas.
He appealed to the people to reduce the exposure area of mosquito bites (at least by wearing full-sleeve shirt and full pant) to stay away from the risk of Dengue.
According to the concerned health officials, there is no need to panic, the situation is under control and the Health department is closely monitoring the situation.
Director of Family Welfare and Preventive Medicine Dr. Radha Debbarma, Head of Microbiology department, AGMC- Tapan Kumar Majumder were present in the press conference.
