Rajasthan's Barmer On Alert As 70 People Get Dengue-Like Disease

The Barmer district administration in Rajasthan has been put on alert after more than 70 people fell ill likely due to a viral disease, a health department official said on Tuesday.

About 40 of them have been admitted to Barmer district hospital and nearly a dozen have been referred to Jodhpur for treatment, the official said.

According to the health department, people reported dengue-like fever and stomach ache in Tirsingri village of Barmer district.

"About 70-80 people have fallen ill," Barmer CMHO Chandra Shekhar Gajraj said.

The official said some of them have dengue while others seem to have another viral disease.

"Blood samples have been sent for medical examination after which something concrete can be said," Mr Gajraj said. "Our teams are monitoring the situation continuously for the last 5-6 days. No patient is serious and we will control the situation in a couple of days." Barmer MLA Mevaram Jain visited the district hospital on Tuesday to meet the family of those admitted there and take stock of the situation.

"I have directed (officials) to send a special team to the village to understand what has happened. We are making efforts to control the situation and stop the spread of the disease. Medical examination is being done in the village to know whether it is dengue, Covid, or some other disease," Mr Jain told reporters. 

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