Dengue outbreak needs integrated action

According to the health department, as of last Wednesday the number of dengue cases this year has reached 3,11,014 and the number of deaths 1,615. The heath department only keeps track of patients who come to the hospital, but does not have the record of those patients who get treated at home without going to the hospital, or who die before receiving treatment. According to officials concerned, there are at least four times the number of patients outside hospital.

Previously, dengue outbreak was mainly during the rainy season, the breeding time for the Aedes mosquito which carries the dengue virus. With the end of the monsoon, dengue would also subside. Since last year, the outbreak of dengue has been observed in winter as well.

Unfortunately, the policymakers are trying to tackle dengue in the routine manner. As a result, the situation has almost gone out of control. According to public health experts, even though the dengue has taken on serious proportions, the government does not have much control over the disease. The government is not allocating necessary funds for montoring and research. Only the information of hospitalised patients is recorded by the health officials. But apart from this, there is no information about the large number of people who are receiving treatment at home. Out-of-hospital patients should also be identified and screened.

Public health expert Dr. Mushtuq Husain told Prothom Alo that close monitoring is needed to understand the movement of diseases and mosquitoes in large populations. But the work did not go well. As a government organisation the responsibility of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) is to monitor. But the organisation did not even get money for it. On the other hand, since the government has not declared dengue as a health emergency, donour support has not been forthcoming.

According to the pathologists, the type of Aedes mosquito is altered. The pesticide that used to kill mosquitoes is no longer effective. The health department says that the local government is responsible for eradicating mosquitoes. If they do not fulfill that duty properly, they must be held accountable. But how can the health department avoid responsibility for healthcare? Many of our hospitals do not have the clean environment required for dengue patients. Again, many hospitals have the environment but lack qualified physicians.

Along with that, the local government ministry makes mountains out of molehills as usual, and the mosquitoes are not dying. Mosquito breeding sites should be destroyed rather than spraying mosquito repellents in the air. Local government ministries as well as city corporations and municipalities talk about public awareness. The public must be conscious, but how conscious are those who are responsible to mobilise public awareness? The relevant departments of the government have failed miserably in preventing dengue.

The dengue situation will not improve if the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Local Government simply blame each other. For this, concerted and comprehensive steps should be taken. An action plan should be taken in coordination with all departments and offices related to dengue.
Bangladesh could successfully deal with a pandemic like Covid, why can't it deal with dengue?