Orissa village on high alert after Dengue case detected

BALISHALI VILLAGE - The tribal dominated Balisahi village of Orissa has been put on high alert since a Dengue case was detected here last week.

Twenty two-year-old Pramila Lima, who is four months pregnant, complained of high fever, shivering and acute pain in the limbs. On being taking to the nearby Behrampur hospital, she was found to be suffering from Malaria.

She was later tested positive with Dengue following lateral tests.

The doctors in the district hospital say that the villagers have been alerted and their blood samples have been collected.

“When our staff came to know about that a case of Dengue has been detected in our block, we immediately came here along with our staff, ANM (auxiliary nurse mid-wife), health worker male, Laboratory division and AYUSH doctors. We came to the village and conducted a health check-up camp. We have taken the blood samples of all the people here on a slide, and the slides have been sent to the district health headquarters,” said Jagdish Panigrahi, a doctor from the district hospital.

Local resident said that since one case of Dengue has been detected, they are very scared as most of them work in the field.

“I told my family that my hands and legs are badly paining. They admitted me in the Behrampur Hospital. There, my blood sample was tested and then the doctors told me that I am suffering from Dengue fever. After that they gave me medicines, which I am taking regularly. My hands and legs are still paining and I am shivering and I am not at all feeling well,” said Pramila Lima, a dengue patient who is four months pregnant.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the symptoms of Dengue include mild or high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash.

Worldwide, dengue fever and its complications cause 22,000 deaths annually in more than 100 countries. By Sarada Lahangir (ANI)