Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has earmarked 40 sentinel sites at District Headquarters Hospitals and Medical Colleges in the state to contain the spread of dengue, informed the Health & Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling in reply to a question raised by Salipur MLA Prashant Behera, on Monday.
The Health Minister’s reply came after Salipur MLA raised the issue during the question hour of the ongoing Assembly session. Behera sought an explanation from Mahaling about the steps being taken by the government to control the disease from spreading its tentacles across the state.
The Minister informed that free ELISA-based antigen detection tests are being provided to diagnose dengue fever at Patia Health Centre and IRC Village Health Centres. The department also assigned 49,000 ASHA workers to raise public awareness about the vector-borne ailment. Besides, 670 volunteers have been employed in 30 districts for the same.
Also, special dengue wards have been opened in every District Headquarters Hospital, Sub-divisional Hospital and Community Health Centre where patients diagnosed with dengue fever are being provided free services, informed the Minister.
