With dengue showing an alarming spread across Bihar with 465 suspected cases recorded so far, of which 305 have been confirmed, hospitals are struggling to handle the constant rise in patients with dengue symptoms even as public resentment against the government is rising.
In state capital Patna, the number of people suffering from dengue has risen to 126 in just over a week and there have been 56 confirmed cases while scores of people with symptoms of the vector-borne disease keep flooding the city’s hospitals. The dengue ward of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), where 29 patients are currently receiving treatment for dengue and nearly 20 others for suspected attacks of dengue, on Wednesday began arranging more beds as the number of dengue cases showed signs of growing.
Health department sources said at least 38 new dengue cases were reported from various districts, including 16 in Patna district, on Tuesday. With the death of one suspected dengue patient earlier this week having caused angry demonstrations by people, the department has asked all government hospitals to take urgent measures for treatment.
Inclement weather, high humidity in the air and many waterlogged areas in most Bihar towns, including Patna, after recent rains coupled with the ubiquitous presence of rotting rubbish have helped the breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes responsible for dengue.