Mangaluru : The Health and Family Welfare Department is intensifying dengue source reduction works and prevent possible spike of dengue cases, District Health and Family Welfare Officer M. Ramakrishna Rao has said.

Speaking to reporters on the occasion of National Dengue Day here on Thursday, Dr. Rao said that with extensive pre-monsoon showers, there was drastic increase in the number of dengue cases, especially in the rural areas of the district, in 2018.

However, the department has been taking steps since January this year to reduce the source of fresh water breeding Aedes egypti mosquito that carries the dengue virus.

The department was intensifying this activity now, he said.

District Vector Borne Disease Control Programme Officer Arun Kumar S.B. said that every month, Accredited Social Health Activists were visiting 200 houses and carrying out source reduction works in the rural areas. Similarly, in urban areas, source-reduction work was being carried out on the first and third Sundays.

Dr. Kumar said that the department has identified 70 sub centres in the rural areas where the number of dengue cases were high last year. Special source reduction and awareness drives will be organised in these areas from June to August. Some activities were planned for July, which was observed as dengue month.

In the last five months, a total of 56 cases of dengue have been noticed. Of these, 36 cases were from the Mangaluru City Corporation area.

A total of 584 cases of dengue were reported last year, while 136 and 485 cases were reported in 2017 and 2016, respectively. A rise in dengue cases was seen especially in May, June and July months of 2016 and 2018.

A jatha on dengue awareness was taken out from the office of the District Health and Family Welfare Officer on Thursday.