State health officials launch door‑to‑door testing after SOP rollout

In response to rising dengue cases, West Bengal's health department issued a Standard Operating Procedure on September 2 that mandates a comprehensive door‑to‑door surveillance drive. Teams are visiting households across the state to identify febrile patients and arrange immediate blood tests.

The initiative has already uncovered more than 500 new infections in the last seven days, lifting the state's cumulative count past 4,500 for the year. Murshidabad district contributed 96 of these cases, making it the most affected area, while Kolkata reported 62 new infections, placing it second.

Data released by the department show a consistent upward trend: from 770 confirmed cases on April 30, the number grew to 1,946 by July 31, reached 3,966 at the end of August, and now stands slightly above 4,500.

Health officials stressed that the figures are fully audited, rejecting any claims of underreporting or reclassification as "undifferentiated fever".