As the monsoon season wanes, Ghaziabad and Noida are grappling with a surge in dengue cases. On a single day, Ghaziabad reported 11 new cases, escalating the total count to 305. Concurrently, Noida wasn’t far behind, adding 12 new cases and pushing its total to 250.
The Demographics of the Affected
In Ghaziabad, the youngest patient is a 12-year-old girl from Sarai Nazar Ali, while the oldest is a 49-year-old woman from Govindpuram. This wide age range underscores the indiscriminate nature of the disease, affecting both the young and the old.
Symptoms and Diagnosis: A Medical Perspective
Medical professionals have noted an uptick not just in dengue but also in malaria and viral fever cases.
- The initial symptoms for all three ailments are strikingly similar, complicating early diagnosis.
- However, a distinguishing factor for dengue is the subsequent decline in blood platelets.
Health Officials Tighten Diagnostic Criteria
In a move aimed at ensuring accurate diagnosis, health officials in Noida have issued notices to private hospitals.
- These establishments had been declaring patients as dengue-positive solely based on a decline in blood platelets.
- The new directive mandates that no patient will be declared dengue-positive without undergoing an Elisa test.
Public Health and Policy Implications
The rising numbers are a cause for concern and call for immediate and effective public health measures. The authorities must ramp up efforts in vector control and public awareness campaigns.
We invite our readers to share their experiences and suggestions on combating this public health crisis. Have you or someone you know been affected by dengue this season? What preventive measures do you think are most effective?
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