Dengue too may join in
Sporadic rain and a relatively empty capital will make for an ideal breeding environment for the dengue-causing Aedes mosquitoes.
Clear and stagnant water in uncovered commodes, discarded containers, and reservoirs at construction sites may eventually be the source of armies of the mosquito in the coming weeks, experts fear.
If people had not emptied the water containers lying around the household, covered the commodes and any other places holding clear water before leaving for their villages, they are likely to return to an Aedes infested home, said Brig Gen Mominur Rahman Mamun, chief health officer at Dhaka North City Corporation.
According to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), since January 1,269 people were treated at hospitals with dengue fever in Dhaka and 63 outside Dhaka.
"Rainfall will create an environment conducive for all kinds of mosquitoes, especially Aedes," Manzur Chowdhury, entomologist and former president of Zoological Society of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.
"We are not giving adequate attention to prevent the Aedes, which may cause an outbreak in the coming months if steps are not taken," he added.
The Covid-19 and dengue outbreaks may happen simultaneously, Monzur said.
"In Singapore, there are patients carrying the two viruses at the same time," he said, adding, "Both viruses are active there and almost 25,000 dengue patients are in that country."
The authorities should launch drives near the houses and workplaces of dengue patients. Adulticiding, larviciding and source reduction are needed there, he said.
Entomologist Kabirul Bashar of Jahangirnagar University said the light rain a few days ago had helped the breeding of Aedes and it would take 15 days for the larva to be adult mosquitoes.
Cleaning activities and awareness campaigns should launch across the country, he added.
Train stations, bus stops, and police stations should be cleaned, he said.
The construction site owners should be very careful. At such sites, the authorities should use bleach in the ditches, containers and reservoirs, he added.
In union and upazila parishads, there is no equipment to control mosquitoes, he pointed out.
Shahnila Ferdousi, line director of Centre for Disease Control at DGHS, said city corporation representatives and individuals should embark on a cleaning mission.
"We distributed 43,000 dengue testing kits to the 491 upazilas," she said.
New doctors in upazila hospitals were trained on dengue patient management in January, she added.
"Due to the coronavirus situation, now we are trying to provide the training online."
A Covid-19 patient infected with dengue will suffer seriously, she said.
"We are advising doctors to observe patients who have fever very carefully."
Local Government and Rural Development Minister Md Tajul Islam said the city corporations were asked to procure enough insecticides and start using them regularly.
They were also asked to create awareness among people and conduct mobile courts when necessary.
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