Amid a surge in dengue cases in Karnataka, the state government on Tuesday notified dengue fever, including severe forms of it, as an epidemic disease and made regulations to amend the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Regulations 2020.
Announcing an action plan, CM Siddaramaiah said, "7,362 dengue cases have been registered till now this year. 12 people have died. 10 beds in a ward must be allotted at every hospital for dengue cases...Free mosquito nets must be provided to slum residents."
As of Thursday, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) zone alone has reported 11,219 cases, with 32 people hospitalised. The state currently has 1,358 active dengue cases, with 245 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Among the new cases, five are infants under one year old, and 100 are children aged between one and 18 years. 140 cases involve adults above the age of 18.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government was monitoring the situation and all departments had been instructed to keep doing source reduction.
Earlier, the state government had ruled out a medical emergency, saying that the infection doesn't spread from person to person like Covid. His remarks came after cardiologist and Bangalore Rural MPDr CN Manjunath had urged the state government to declare dengue a "medical emergency."
Rao, however, advised hospitals to keep beds ready. He assured that government hospitals were well-equipped to provide the right treatment and care through intravenous fluids and platelets to dengue patients.
The minister further ruled out the need for isolation wards, saying, "There is a need to spread awareness among the people as to at what stage of a fever one needs to visit a hospital."
Health experts are urging the public to remain vigilant, use mosquito repellents, and keep their surroundings clean to prevent further spread of the disease.
Districts witnessing a surge in dengue infections are Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru, Haveri, Dharwad and Chitradurga.
(With inputs from PTI)
