TURA, Oct 14: Cases of dengue fever are rising by the week across the Garo Hills with Tura town being the epicentre where the first death reported in the state happened in Tura Civil Hospital on the 12th of October.

The 52 year old man from Matchikol locality of Tura was brought in with high fever and other complications from dengue and went on to develop a brain hemorrhage leading to his death.

Data from Tura civil hospital reveal that in just ten days, from 3rd to 12th of October there were 139 tests for suspected dengue and 44 were found positive.

The highest number of dengue cases identified as positive were 9 on October 4th and another 8 positive cases on October 10th during rapid tests for the disease in the hospital.

Doctors in Tura told HUB NEWS that the number of dengue positive and suspected cases are staggering this year.

“We have only scratched the top when it comes to detecting the actual number in the infection rate because for every single test of dengue in Tura civil hospital there are more than 10 others taking a similar test in private clinics across Tura and other towns of the district,” reveals a government doctor.

He goes on to say that many people who turn up positive prefer to undergo treatment at home and it is only when complications occur that they land up in hospital.

Poor sanitation and awareness coupled with rearing of pigs in different localities of Tura have been the prime reasons for the spurt in dengue cases in Tura.

Some meat sellers are bringing in live pigs into town and keeping them in makeshift enclosures before slaughtering them for sale.

One such case is of Chandmari market where butchers are being provided with the meat of pigs from an enclosure operated by some members of a sweepers colony originally engaged for work in the nearby Tura Christian hospital. To avoid detection the pigs are herded in just a day before the slaughter but the stench and filth left behind becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes spreading malaria and dengue.

Read: NEHU Tura Campus Ragging: Even after 5 days, authorities fail to make headway; more details inside

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