88 fresh cases of dengue in Jammu in less than two weeks

As many as 88 people were tested positive for dengue during the past 11 days here, taking the total number of such patients in the state since July to 336, officials said.

Out of the 88 tested positive for dengue since October 7, 71 are residents of the Jammu district, seven of Sabma, six Kathua, two Udhampur and one each of Rajouri and Doda districts, they said.

At 292, Jammu has recorded the highest number of cases since July, when it was first reported this year.

It was followed by Kathua (12), Samba (11), Rajouri, Udhampur, Doda (six each), and Poonch and Kishtwar (one each), the officials said.

They said one case of dengue was reported from Kashmir.

The officials said 2,023 tests were conducted till yesterday and so far 336 people including 111 children and 84 women were tested positive for dengue, while 268 reports are still awaited.

However, there was no fresh case of swine flu which claimed three lives in the Jammu region since July, the officials said.

Health minister Bali Bhagat visited Sri Maharaja Gulab Singh hospital here last evening to review the preparedness to prevent and control spread of dengue.

The minister asked the health department to step up prevention efforts and asked officers concerned to launch information campaign to raise awareness on prevention and control of this disease, an official spokesman said.

The minister also directed the officers to conduct regular visits to various hospitals in the region for assessing the situation and providing on-the-spot technical guidance to the health authorities, he said.

"Cases of dengue must be dealt with special care," the minister said, directing officers to ensure adequate bed availability for dengue patients.

The minister also interacted with patients and enquired about the medical care and other facilities being provided to them, the spokesman said.