Officials on alert with rise in dengue cases

HYDERABAD

The Health Department has intensified dengue surveillance and control measures across the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) following an increase in reported dengue cases.

At a review meeting held at the Central Malaria Office on Saturday, Additional Director Padmaja of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), along with officials from the Central Malaria Office, Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, GHMC, the Metropolitan Surveillance Unit and private hospitals, reviewed the situation and issued a series of directives.

Officials were instructed to verify dengue case entries on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal daily, ensure accurate patient details, and rectify duplicate or incorrect entries within 24 hours to facilitate effective case tracing. Government health institutions were directed to upload complete addresses and contact details, while field officers were asked to verify all positive cases and submit action taken reports within 48 hours.

The department also directed officials to cross-notify cases belonging to other districts or states through the portal within 24 hours and reiterated the need to upload lymphatic filariasis cases on the designated IHIP portal. Weekly reviews of IHIP and IDSP data will be conducted to monitor reporting quality.

Fever clinics

Mobile health camps and fever clinics will be organised this week in high-risk localities across GHMC. The camps will provide fever screening, dengue rapid diagnostic tests where required, free medical consultations and public awareness on mosquito-borne disease prevention.

GHMC and Metropolitan Surveillance Unit entomologists will carry out targeted vector control measures, including larval source management, entomological surveillance and fogging wherever required. Community teams will also promote household source reduction and distribute larval control kits.

The department said the camps would focus on vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, infants, the elderly and people with co-morbidities, while ensuring referral of severe cases to nearby hospitals.