The AMC officials had arrived to inspect hygiene on the school premises after four children studying in the school's nursery sections reported sick with symptoms of dengue.
A pleasant Friday turned gloomy for the authorities of Ahmedabad International School (AIS) when its swanky campus was suddenly thronged by the officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's health department.
The AMC officials had arrived to inspect hygiene on the school premises after four children studying in the school's nursery sections reported sick with symptoms of dengue. Of the four, only one student was confirmed as suffering from dengue.
The chief medical officer of the AMC, Suhas Kulkarni, said that, till Friday evening, only one of the four AIS students was confirmed as suffering from dengue while the rest had not tested positive. The AMC and AIS authorities refused to disclose the names of the children who had fallen ill.
Executive Director of AIS, Dr Tarulata, told DNA that when more complaints of suspected dengue cases began coming in, they had thought it better to declare a holiday for the 70 students of the three nursery sections which appeared to be affected.
"We declared a holiday for them on Friday. As Saturday and Sunday are holidays for nursery kids, we will get three days to clean up the area," said Dr Tarulata. She said that the school campus is fumigated every week. Now they would get it fumigated twice a week to ensure that the children are completely safe while at school, she said.
When DNA checked the school premises, three buckets which collected the water flowing out of air-conditioners were the only possible place where mosquitoes could breed. Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean but stagnant water.
Kulkarni, who visited the school campus, also insisted that the school does not have any place where the dangerous mosquitoes can breed. The child who had tested positive stays near Keshavnagar and that is where he might have caught the infection, Kulkarni said.
"There was some trash on the school premises, and some containers with leftover paint. We have asked them to clean up the area. Apart from that, there is no place at the school where mosquitoes could breed," Kulkarni said.
With the one case confirmed on Friday, Ahmedabad has registered around 150 cases of dengue in September. Of these, 95 cases were admitted to AMC-managed hospitals and 55 to private hospitals. Kulkarni insisted that last year in the month of September, 152 dengue cases were registered only in AMC-managed hospitals and this data did not include dengue cases in private hospitals. Hence, there has been a drop in the number of dengue cases registered in city this year, he said.
"But it is always better to take precaution and so denizens should not have stagnant water in or near their houses. Places where there might be stagnant water are cement tanks, air coolers and air-conditioners. Also it is important to use mosquito repellants and wear full sleeve to avoid mosquito bites," he said.
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