Ludhiana: The city has so far this year witnessed the least number of dengue cases since 2022, thanks to the early preventive measures being taken by the district health department. The department has hired 100 domestic breeding checkers tasked with identifying and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds in residential areas. According to the health department, Ludhiana reported six dengue cases in the first six months this year. It’s way below the number of cases (37) recorded during the same period last year, and one shy of the 2022 dengue count.The month-wise break-up of cases in the ongoing year shows that the district recorded three cases each in May and June. Two more fresh cases have been reported until July 19.District epidemiologist Dr Sheetal Narang said of the eight dengue patients, one is from the urban area of the district, four are from Sudhar, two from Hathur, and one case from Raikot block. She assured that steps have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease, and 325 teams have been constituted to monitor mosquito breeding and create awareness among people. Eighteen of these teams are for urban areas and the rest for rural ones. Each team comprises multipurpose health workers, Swastya Sewaks, and breeding checkers in urban areas, and multipurpose health workers, ASHA & ANMs in rural belts.
