The Karnataka Health department has reported a rise in dengue cases in Bengaluru, with more than 3,200 cases within two months. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao, on Thursday, September 7, said that  1,649 cases were reported in July and 1,590 in August. Further, 416 cases have been reported in September.

The minister said that 4,427 dengue cases have been detected till date this year in Bengaluru alone, adding that the cases will now be monitored through the disease surveillance dashboard. It will provide a map of outbreaks across Karnataka at the district and sub-district levels along with case trends across years. A four-week predictive risk map of outbreaks will also be made available to state and district officers. In addition to predictions, data from multiple sources is being standardised and streamlined for improved analysis. In order to capture real-time data from on-ground surveys, DHFW-GoK and BBMP will leverage mobile apps. Both the dashboard and mobile app are focused on Dengue, to begin with, and the aim is to expand to additional diseases in the future.

At a meeting with the officials of the health department and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Thursday over rising cases of dengue in Bengaluru, Rao directed the concerned authorities to take appropriate measures to contain the disease. “People need to be educated by utilising the services of local health workers. There is a need to increase testing. Dengue cases have increased within the limits of BBMP in the last two months,” Rao said.

He also said that dengue cases will now be monitored by the health workers at the ward level through the mobile application of the dashboard. "Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have invented a technology which gives accurate predictions about dengue cases in advance," Rao stated.

(With IANS inputs)