Five cops undergoing medical treatment, medical report is pending
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The town police is under a dengue scare with 5 policemen – including a sub inspector – suspected to have contracted the disease, arguably due to the unhygienic surroundings around the edifice housing the staff. Dengue fever is prevalent in the state with cases being reported on a regular basis all around.
Two constables are likely to have been infected, while three others are also suspected to be infected by the viral fever. However, the medical report is pending.
Sources in the department attribute the outbreak to unhygienic conditions prevailing around the town police station.
There are also fears that many more could get infected with the virus as the police station building also houses other units like the Anti Narcotics Cell, police control room for North Goa, Panjim Traffic Cell and Women Police Station. These police head quarters are where top police officials including the Director General of Police are seated.
The affected police officials though discharged from the hospital are still undergoing medical treatment.
Sources disclosed that during an inspection at each of these units, health sanitary inspectors discovered mosquito larvae in stagnant water at police barrack, located above the town police station. The department was instructed to clean the entire barrack.
After the initial scare, the police are not willing to take a risk and any personnel having fever are immediately referred to Goa Medical College.
“Any suspected dengue fever patient is referred to Goa Medical College for tests, we are not taking any chance,” police medical officer Dr Dattaprasad Nagvekar confirmed Herald.
The department has also been asked to start ‘dry weekend exercise’ to ensure cleanliness to keep away serious health threats.
The Directorate of Health Services in a recent survey has conceded that Goa is witnessing a rise in dengue with 198 cases reported in 2013.
“Since mosquitoes breeds in clean stagnant water; water stored in small utensils, buckets, barrels, tyres and other articles, these need to be cleaned after every two-to-three days,” the doctor said.
