140% spike in dengue cases in state this June over past year

Panaji: Goa reported 60 dengue cases this June, a 140% spurt compared to the 25 cases reported during the same month last year. A majority of these, 52, were reported from North Goa and only eight from the South.
The health department has attributed the jump in cases this year to less rainfall in June 2023. “We didn’t experience much rainfall last June. This time, it has been raining from June onwards,” deputy director of health services and in charge of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Dr Kalpana Mahatme, told TOI.
A slew of infrastructure projects and accompanying migrant settlement areas, and more housing societies in North Goa are all responsible for the high concentration of dengue cases in district compared to South Goa, where no major construction works are underway and there are more individual homes than housing societies.
“In South Goa, our hotspots are usually Margao, Cortalim and Vasco. We don’t have any high-risk areas in the rest of the district, but things are different in North Goa which has more mega projects, construction sites, areas rented out to migrants, more house clusters and congestion. We are constantly adding more areas in North Goa to our high-risk list,” she said.
Most house owners have complied with the showcause notices issued to them under the health act, she said. These were issued when they were found to not be cooperating with health workers to prevent water from stagnating.
The influx of labour into Goa this year is higher than last year, Mahatme said. A total of 5,826 health cards were issued to labourers at construction sites compared to 4,882 last year. The cumulative figure of health cards issued from Jan to June this year was 29,377 compared to only 27,841 for the same period last year.
Similarly, other labourers at jetties, trawlers, shacks, hotels and migrant settlement areas for the month of June this year totalled 31,887 compared to 22,335 last year. The cumulative figure from Jan to June this year is 1,66,939 compared to 1,29,308 during the same period last year.
“The influx at construction sites is high. The virus is being brought into the state. We cannot stop influx but we can control the vector,” Mahatme said.