Panji, Oct 26 (TNN): Till date there have been 109 dengue cases registered in Goa this year, 20 of them in October. One person died of dengue two months ago.

Areas that saw most dengue cases this month have been Marcaim with four cases, while Vasco, Aldona, Candolim, Ponda and Corlim had two each. While the last two years (2011 and 2012) saw dengue cases dropping drastically in the state, the surge this year is worrying. In 2011, 26 dengue cases had been detected and 39 cases were detected in 2012.

National vector borne disease control programme in charge Dr Sachin Govenkar said that though the number of dengue cases has gone up there has been no outbreak. "All we have got are random cases reported from different parts of the state. When there is an outbreak of dengue in other states, Goa cannot remain unaffected. Being a tourist state we also have a lot of floating population," he said.

Govenkar said all precautionary measures, besides alerting health centers and health institutes in the state, had been taken. The national nodal officer for national vector borne disease for Goa, in Delhi has also been informed about the situation as also the measures initiated so far.

Primary, urban and community health centers have been given funds ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 each, to take up measures to fight vector borne diseases. "We have directed all health centers to take cases of fever seriously so that the virus is detected at the earliest," Govenkar said.

To detect the dengue virus, the health department advises the MAC Eliza test which has been validated by the national vector borne disease control programme.

Keeping one's surroundings clean or mosquito free is the only way to keep the dengue virus out. The health department has also been taking up advocacy workshops and awareness programmes to contain spread of dengue.