Anti-dengue campaign underway in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum

Jamshedpur, Jul 14 (PTI) A massive anti-dengue campaign is being conducted in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum by the district administration to prevent the spread of the virus, a senior official said on Sunday.
    Deputy Commissioner Ananya Mittal said that teams engaged in the anti-dengue drive have surveyed 2.5 lakh households and collected 60,000 samples of water containing larvae for testing.
    The objective of the drive is to generate awareness among the masses, he said, adding a penalty of Rs 500 would be imposed if larvae are found on the premises of a household.
    The DC said that eight dengue cases have been reported in Jamshedpur so far but the number is far lesser than last year, when the situation had taken the shape of an epidemic.
    "This year, we do not want to leave anything to chance and have initiated all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus," Mittal told PTI.
    He said the campaign was launched in the first week of July after a meeting with various stakeholders.
    An awareness drive is underway also in schools, colleges and Anganwadi centres, Mittal said, while urging people to use anti-larval chemicals and bleaching powder to prevent the spread of the virus.
    Pamphlets are being distributed and a helpline number has been issued for people to gather information about the mosquito-borne disease or share information on possible breeding spots, he said.
    Two beds have been reserved in all hospitals, including the private ones, for dengue patients.
    During the campaign, water tanks, coolers, drums, flower pots, refrigerator trays, old vehicle tyres and scrapyards were checked and dengue larvae were detected in 360 such containers and properly treated, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)