The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) began conducting free dengue tests on Monday in a bid to stem the surge of this mosquito-borne viral disease.
Mayor Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury inaugurated the initiative at the Chattogram City Corporation General Hospital. Suspected patients can undergo the test from 9am to 4pm every day. This initiative will continue until the dengue outbreak subsides.
At the inauguration programme, the mayor said, “This initiative has been taken so that the poor do not get deprived of dengue test for financial reasons. The campaign will continue until the dengue cases witness a decrease.
“If dengue prevalence increases, we will start free dengue testing programme in other hospitals if necessary.”
Rezaul said only spraying pesticides will not help exterminate mosquitoes rather it requires public awareness to curb the dengue menace.
He added that the city corporation has started using a drone in its 100-day crash programme to find the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes which spread dengue.
CCC Chief Health Officer Dr Salim Akhter Chowdhury urged the suspected patients to get tested first as soon as symptoms appear and then receive treatment at hospitals.
During Monday’s anti-Aedes drive in Agrabad CDA Residential Area, CCC Special Magistrate Manisha Mahajan fined the owners of five buildings Tk 38,000 as Aedes larvae and breeding grounds were found in their houses.
