Kolkata: A day after a review meeting on vector borne diseases, the state health department is all set to deploy Asha workers to intensify dengue surveillance. These community workers have been told to identify fever cases in every household and encourage them to go for testing.They have been also asked to facilitate ELISA testing in the nearest govt facility.According to a health department order on Wednesday, the Asha workers will visit households in rural, urban and semi-urban areas to look for fever cases.“Any fever case with duration of more than 48 hours shall be mandatorily reported by the Ashas in prescribed format to the medical officer concerned,” the order reads.There are over 65,000 Asha workers, engaged in different public and community health initiatives, in Bengal. All CMOHs shall ensure speedy availability of free ELISA testing for dengue in all govt healthcare facilities.On Tuesday, Adhikari instructed the health department to stock up testing kits to stay prepared to tackle any surge in dengue tally.Health experts said dengue cases have remained unusually low this year. But cases might go up, considering the fact that the monsoon isn’t over yet. At least 4,000 dengue cases have been reported this year until now from across Bengal, compared to around 7,600 cases till the same time last year. Health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said the health department would observe Sept as the dengue awareness month. Health officials said fever identification and testing of symptomatic individuals would be conducted till Oct 15. The health department has also made it mandatory for daily reporting on dengue tests. Health officials have been asked to stay watchful for any indication of clustering so that immediate action can be initiated in the affected locality.
