High alert on dengue sounded in Bihar: Minister

The Bihar government has sounded a high dengue alert after reports of over 200 cases and directed health officials to initiate preventive measures and provide treatment to patients, Bihar Health Minister Ramdhani Singh said on Thursday.

"We have directed health officials to take all possible measures to check and control the spread of dengue and provide treatment to people affected by it," Singh said.

In the past 48 hours, 20 new dengue cases have been detected in Patna alone, raising the total number of people afflicted with the disease to 240," said a health department official.

More than four dozen dengue patients are undergoing treatment at a special dengue ward in Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and private hospitals, officials said.

Till date, dengue cases have been reported in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Sitamarhi, Siwan, Jamui, Nalanda, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Samastipur, Saran, Purnea, Nawada, Begusarai and Bhojpur districts.

The minister said officials have been asked to prevent proliferation of mosquito larvae and to clean different areas. They have been directed to take measures to check the spread of dengue.

Dengue has reportedly claimed three lives in Bihar so far.

Worried over rising dengue cases from new localities in Patna, the district administration has begun an anti-mosquito fumigation drive.

Patna civil surgeon Girender Sekhar Singh said he had directed for expediting the fumigation drive.