40 more cases Chikungunya reported in Jaipur

Jaipur: Chikungunya, the vector borne disease has turned into a nightmare to the people of the city with 40 fresh cases were detected on Tuesday.

According to the official figures of the health department, the number of Chikungunya cases has gone up to 418 till now with no signs of abating. Hospitals are flooded with patients complaining of chikungunya and viral fever. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is also down with viral fever.

Commissioner Medical and Health Dr BR Meena said the department is adopting multi prong approach to deal with the situation.
He said while along with anti-larval activities like fogging, the department has also initiated biological controls like releasing

gambusia fish

in the water bodies to control mosquitoes.

Under the chief ministers Jal Swalamban scheme many water bodies were constructed and most of them have collected water due to the good rainfall during this monsoon season. These water bodies have also become breeding ground for mosquitoes.

He said the health department had advised the government to release gambusia fish which thrives on mosquito larva as part of the biological control programme, besides enhancing the number of doctors at hospitals. He said an additional OPD has been opened at SMS hospital to deal with the rush and six additional doctors have been posted at Jaipuria and Gangori Bazar hospitals in the city. He said the government had already made laboratory test of Chikungunya and dengue free of cost apart from extending this facility to all district hospitals.

Chikungunya spreads through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. It is the same mosquito which transmits dengue. "If Aedes aegypti mosquito bites a person suffering from chikungunya, it becomes infected with chikungunya virus. When the same mosquito bites a healthy person, it transmits the virus to him who then becomes infected," chief medical health officer (Jaipur I) Dr Narottam Sharma Said .

He advised citizens to take precautions to keep seasonal diseases away by keeping the environment clean and not letting water accumulate to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.