Dealing with dengue

Tuesday, 16 November 2021 02:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The latest numbers suggest that over 24,000 cases of dengue have been reported this year. While this is a far cry from the 100,000 cases reported annually at the height of the dengue epidemic in the country a few years ago, the added complication of COVID-19 means that this is something the population cannot afford to overlook.

Indeed, the commonalities in certain symptoms of both the diseases make differentiating between them quite difficult at the initial stages, which in turn complicates matters further as studies have shown that this can result in coinfection in endemic areas.

Further, with the prevalence of torrential rain across the country and the gradual reopening of the country, an increase in the incidence of dengue poses a real threat during the COVID-19 pandemic because it could lead to the overburdening of health systems.

The reality is that now more than ever is when the Government and the public at large need to take even more precautions when it comes to dengue prevention measures.

Already we have started to see the problem affecting our closest neighbour; in the Indian State of Odisha, though COVID cases have reduced, dengue has seen a 15-fold increase, with the number of cases registered over the past year the second highest in recent years.

In years gone by in Sri Lanka, despite increased public awareness, dengue has remained a serious and sometimes fatal urban health problem, with the efforts made thus far proving to be largely ineffectual.

Successive frustrated governments have thrown many initiatives at the disease, including the Army, deploying patrols to frighten people into compliance, but these have all been stopgap measures. People remain under the heel of the epidemic’s natural cycle with one year ending only to find fresh patients a few months later.

While the large periods of lockdown measures over the past two years brought down the annual dengue numbers, the threat of the problem now re-emerging is a very real one – especially with virtually all age groups now heading back to school, and the country on the verge of fully opening up.

There is also the matter of members of the public having legitimate concerns about heading to hospitals when they start showing symptoms, due to fears of contracting COVID. However, Government experts have sought to allay those fears, and instead have been insisting that people take tests, either antigen or full blood counts, so as to identify if the problem is dengue or COVID.

The Government for their part has promised to make the public aware of possible dengue breeding grounds in and around their homes, with guidelines to be provided on how to maintain an environment free of mosquito breeding sites.

The National Dengue Control Unit meanwhile has begun a special dengue control program, with teams of MOH officers, Police and the armed forces, as well as volunteers working to locate mosquito breeding grounds.

While this initiative is a start, it has faced hurdles in the form of inclement weather. In the meantime, it’s crucial that the Government and the media both not take their eye off the proverbial ball just because the COVID numbers are seemingly under control. Lives very much depend on it.