Odisha: 40 sentinel sites earmarked to check rising dengue cases

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], August 24 : Amid rising dengue cases in Odisha, the Health Department has earmarked 40 sentinel sites in the state to check the spread of the vector-borne disease, officials informed on Thursday.
According to an official release by the Health Department, the state has, to date, reported 2,663 dengue cases and the state and district health authorities concerned have been asked to mobilise necessary steps to contain the spread of the disease.
The department also instructed the authorities concerned to raise public awareness about the vector-borne ailment in the ongoing monsoon season.
Earlier, the state capital, Bhubaneswar, reported a sharp upward spiral in dengue cases, with as many as 15-20 people infected with the vector-borne ailment admitted at the Capital Hospital.
As many as 70-80 of the 700 samples tested every day return positive for the vector-borne ailment, officials said.
Earlier, speaking to ANI on Tuesday, the director of Capital Hospital, Laxmidhar Sahoo, said, "We currently have 65 dengue patients at the hospital. Normally, we reserve 10-15 beds for dengue patients every year. This year, however, we have been receiving a large number of patients battling dengue."
"Every day, we test about 700 samples, of which 70-80 return positive for dengue. We have been receiving anywhere between 15 and 20 dengue patients at the Capital Hospital every day," Sahoo told ANI on Tuesday.
Conceding that a large of patients have put pressure on the hospital's existing infrastructure to treat such cases, he added, "We have asked the state government to increase beds and depute three lab technicians for testing samples."