Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) recently issued directives asking the authorities of the educational institutions to take proper measures to clean the school-college buildings and playground to prevent dengue spread. According to DSHE, dengue has spread in Dhaka city and different parts of the country and educational institutions need to take precautions to prevent further spread of dengue. As dengue is a mosquito-borne disease, stagnant water in school playgrounds and buildings and in flower pots are perfect breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.
It is startling to note that the number of dengue patients getting admitted into hospitals and death toll of already admitted patients continue to rise. The Directorate General of Health Services earlier issued a warning that those who previously had dengue and recovered will not be affected by the same type of dengue. However, there is a risk of death if affected by a different type of dengue.
According to Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), people are being infected mostly with dengue variant (DEN-2) this year. Analysing a limited number of samples it has been found that 62 per cent of the patients have been infected with dengue variant DEN-2. Experts are of the opinion that mortality risks become higher if a previous patient of the disease is infected with a different variant. However, early detection and immediate hospitalisation can help lower the risks significantly.
If city authorities do not devise necessary
measures immediately to control Aedes
mosquitoes, there might be a surge in the
number of dengue patients
Experts have advised all organisations, including city corporations, municipalities, and union parishads, to play a strong role in controlling Aedes mosquitoes from now. Dengue mosquitoes thrive in areas with stagnant water in puddles, water tanks, containers and old tyres. Hence, at the household level, people need to be aware of these issues, and keep their houses clean.
The best way to prevent the disease from spreading in settlements is to remove waterlogged areas, keep the settlements always clean and properly dump bio-degradable garbage away from human settlements and use insecticide-treated mosquito nets. These are not difficult tasks. Proper hygiene and sanitation can help prevent the transmission of dengue virus.
A new variety of type-3 dengue was found for the first time in Bangladesh in 2020. Considering the changing characteristic of the disease, departments concerned including health experts should look forward to conducting further research and forming a high-profile committee of experts to formulate a guideline to tackle dengue. Proper directives should be provided to the hospitals in case of encountering any dengue cases as in both dengue and coronavirus cases the symptom of fever is common. The government should deploy expert teams to visit dengue-prone areas and inform people about how to destroy all potential mosquito-breeding sites. Also, in order to control Aedes mosquitoes, devising an integrated initiative, especially involving locals has become the need of the hour. If city authorities do not devise necessary measures immediately to control Aedes mosquitoes, there might be a surge in the number of dengue patients.
