Amid Dengue outbreak, health ministry asks states, municipalities to manage cases on priority

Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has urged States and municipalities to be vigilant for timely containing of any outbreak of Dengue. “It is important for relevant stakeholders including the Urban Development Ministry, States, Municipal Corporations and local self-government bodies to cooperate and work in tandem to prevent and manage dengue cases in the country,” he stated while chairing a high-level inter-ministerial meeting (conducted in hybrid mode) to review the dengue situation in nine high-burden states and assess the preparedness of the public health system for the prevention, containment, and management of dengue, given the onset of the monsoon and the rise in dengue cases.

The meeting included participation from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) as well as Secretaries and high-level officials from the nine states of Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Total of 18 municipal corporations including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai virtually participated in the meeting. The highest number of cases have been reported from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

He emphasised that cases have been increasing over the past four years, year after year. Although dengue cases generally peak in October, this year’s trend shows that, as of July 31, 2024, the number of cases is already almost 50% higher than at the same time last year, he pointed out.

The Health Secretary urged the States to ensure that they are prepared for the upcoming peak. While the number of cases has been rising over the past four years, the Dengue Case Fatality Rate has decreased from 3.3% in 1996 to 0.17% in 2023 due to focused, timely and collaborative efforts, the Health Secretary stated.

Apurva Chandra advised the States to be prepared with effective hospital management of the dengue patients. Secretary also advised for identification of the hot spots, increased vector surveillance, geotagging of the cases for taking preventive actions etc. He stated, “We need to ensure the availability of platelets and hospital resources in the health departments to bring down the fatality rate.” He assured all support to the states in combatting dengue and encouraged the states to submit their proposals to the Ministry regarding the support they require.