Leptospirosis spreads to urban areas in Gulbarga

Gulbarga, Mar 23 (UNI) More than 40 fresh cases of Leptospirosis have been reported in this district of Karnataka, with the disease, confined to rural areas till now, spreading to the city.

Health Officer Panduranga Pujar today said a team of doctors from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, now touring the affected areas in Raichur district, were likely to arrive here tomorrow to study the situation.

He said the cases were reported from the thickly populated localities of the city and Sedam town. District Health Officials and City Corporation authorities were taking all measures to arrest the spread of the disease.

Deputy Commissioner Anjum Parvez said Corporation authorities had been instructed to purchase five more fogging machines immediately to take up intensive fogging operations in the city. Another 20 fogging machines would be purchased for use in other parts of the district, he added.

Isolated cases of Leptospirosis were also reported from smaller towns.

National Institute of Communicable Diseases U V S Rana had visited some of the affected areas and studied results of blood samples drawn from affected people in the district.

Dr Rana had told the district authorities that symptoms and results of blood tests and the pattern of spread suggested that it was an outbreak of Leptospirosis, an acute alphavirus infection transmitted by aedes mosquitoes, causing dengue fever.

He also suggested to the officials that they should immediately take up preventive measures in thickly populated areas, undertake intensive fogging to check the growth of mosquitoes and create awareness among the people to keep their surroundings clean. UNI BSR RG RKN2112