'Dengue-like' fever outbreak suspected in A'gabad; 1,455 ill so far

Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Mar 20 (UNI) District health authorities are suspecting the outbreak of ''dengue-like'' fever in the Paithan tehsil of the district, even as 1,455 people have so far complained of high fever there.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr S K Yelurkar, who has been camping in the fever-affected Paithan town, told UNI today that 72 blood samples of the patients have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for antigen tests, of which six have been sent specifically for testing of dengue and one for Japanese fever.

Of the 1,455 patients registered so far, 714 are from the Paithan town, while the rest are in the rural areas of the tehsil, Dr Yelurkar said.

He also said since there was no adequate accommodation to admit so many patients in the hospitals, the medical teams have been sent to treat the patients at their homes only.

Though, there is no specific medicine for such kind of fever, paracetamol tablets are been given to the patients to control it as of now, he added.

However, sources said apart from the official number of the patients, many others have also been admitted to private hospitals and nursing homes for the same disease, and added that the fever has been spreading in the area since about a week.

Meanwhile, preliminary investigations have revealed that the 'Edisecgypty' mosquitoe (a specific mosquito species) is the cause of the ailment, with the patients showing symptoms of high-grade fever, coupled with weakness, severe body and joints' pain, Dr Yelurkar said.

These type of mosquitoes are mainly found in the stored water, particularly in tanks, he said and added that the medical teams as well as the district health department has advised people residing in the affected areas to clean up their water tanks atleast once in a week to prevent the spread of the fever.

The health authorities have also set up four medical teams at the district level to conduct a scrutiny of the places where the outbreak of the fever has been reported.

Besides, 10 teams comprising 30 medical officers have been deployed in the affected areas to prevent the spread of the disease, he said.

A caution has been raised in the town for taking all precautionary measures as a large number of people from across the State are to come here tomorrow for the town's annual fair, sources said.

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