People are rescued in a tractor from a flooded area following heavy rainfall in Patna, India, Sept 30, 2019. Monsoon rains continue to batter parts of India, with dozens of people dying in the past 24 hours, officials said Sunday. (AFTAB ALAM SIDDIQUI / AP)

After serious flooding, the spread of dengue has grown to epidemic proportions in the north Indian state of Bihar with around 100 cases being reported every day recently.

According to the latest report of the state’s health department, currently 2,204 people are infected with dengue in Bihar. Of these cases, 1,647 alone are from Patna, the capital of Bihar state, indicating the gravity of the situation.

Although the mosquito-borne disease has claimed only five lives so far, an average of 100 new patients test positive for dengue every day. This has caused panic among residents who are still to recover from the shock of severe floods

Although the mosquito-borne disease has claimed only five lives so far, an average of 100 new patients test positive for dengue every day. This has caused panic among residents who are still to recover from the shock of severe floods.

The state’s health department has now launched intensive campaigns to prevent the spread of the disease and advised citizens to take maximum precaution to prevent the spread of dengue. In Patna, many of affected areas remain under water.

“We are keeping a close vigil on the situation and are adopting every measure to prevent the spread of the disease,” said Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar, the senior-most official in Bihar’s health department.

“We have deployed 75 teams for indoor residual spray and educating people to take precautions against mosquito bites by wearing full-length clothes and not allowing accumulation of stagnant water at their houses,” Kumar said.

Apart from these measures, bleaching powder packets – each weighing 500 grams – are also being distributed to every home, he said.

He said there was nothing to panic as the government hospitals have enough platelets and drugs to fight the disease, and added: “We also have sufficient number of beds at the health facilities.”

Heath officials said most of the dengue cases being reported by hospitals are from Patna since many localities of the state capital remained under floodwater for about 10 days. The heavy water-logging proved an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the main vector that transmits the virus that causes dengue.

A Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) worker fumigates to combat dengue and malaria, at a residential area in Guwahati on Sept 24, 2019. (BIJU BORO / AFP)

ALSO READ: Anti-dengue effort pledged despite no new cases reported

“The majority of localities in Patna are currently in the grip of dengue and hence people must take extra precaution,” said Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, superintendent of Patna Medical College and Hospital, a premier government hospital in Patna.

Another prominent city physician who goes by the same name said the current climate is only too ideal for the spread of the dengue virus in Bihar. “The temperature and humidity levels are both ideal for the spread of this disease. That is the reason people are falling victim to this mosquito-borne disease fast. The dengue cases will come down only when the daily maximum temperature goes below 25 degree celsius,” Dr Ranjan explained.

Authorities said around 12 localities of Patna, including many exclusive residential areas, remained under waist-deep to neck-deep water for about a fortnight after incessant rains in the state capital during the last week of September.

The National Disaster Response Force and other emergency rescue teams used boats to rescue residents who were trapped in their flooded homes and rushed relief materials to meet their needs. Even Bihar’s deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, had to be rescued from his flooded residence.

Last year, 2,100 dengue cases were reported from Bihar, when the disease claimed the lives of at least three people, including two doctors. Of the affected people, 1,176 were from Patna, health officials said.

This is the second year in a row that the Indian state has reported incidents of deadly diseases. During summer this year, cases of encephalitis were also reported from Bihar, with 161 children killed, prompting the authorities to launch major remedial measures and supply nutritious food to the affected families.   

Most of the deaths were reported from Muzaffarpur, a town in the north of Bihar state. Health officials said the children died due to dehydration and loss of glucose in their blood. They added that majority of the children affected by encephalitis were severely malnourished.

READ MORE: Guangdong province responds to increase of dengue fever

Health officials said a total of 647 cases of suspected encephalitis were reported this year, out of which 161 children died while the rest returned home after treatment.

Officials said cases of encephalitis have been reported from the state since 1995, but in the past nine years the outbreak of this disease had claimed 474 lives. The disease, which mostly affects children and young adults, is yet to be brought under control.