DSCC planning 5yr anti-mosquito project
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon yesterday said they have already taken initiatives for a five-year long project proposal to control Aedes mosquito.
“With the project, we are going to bring Aedes mosquito population in DSCC area under control, and as part of the project we want to form a department called Communicable Disease Control and Research,” said the mayor while sharing his experiences of a visit to Singapore last week, to gather knowledge on keeping Aedes mosquitoes in check.
“Our five-year project and working plan will be implemented through this department,” the mayor said.
For implementation, they contacted the Singapore government and visited the country recently, he said.
“We have already had primary discussion with Environmental Health Institute of Singapore to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the visit to exchange information on dengue, using technology, technical support and training,” he added.
A permanent relationship will be formed between the two countries on dengue issues through signing the of MoU, he said.
The mayor, at the press conference, also blamed Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for not providing necessary information to DSCC.
He said though they repeatedly asked DGHS to provide them area-based information of dengue patients, they are not receiving it.
Khokon said they would be able to take necessary steps at the particular places if they get the list from DGHS.
Chief Health Officer of DSCC Brig Gen Sharif Ahmed said to keep dengue in check, the Singapore government takes steps throughout the year.
Their measures include field-level data collection and research; updating information on website and mobile apps; national-level taskforce for dengue control; private, public sectors and people working together; community engagement; regular vector control; personal responsibility and protection; and strict legal action.
He said in Singapore, 11,000 dengue patients were identified this year, of whom 15 died of the disease.
Main causes of high number of dengue cases this year in Singapore are: huge number of Aedes mosquitoes, high temperature, presence of high quantity of larvae in houses and weak resistance among population, Sharif said.
He said the Singapore authorities visit door to door and destroy the breeding sources of larvae, alert people and engage volunteers.
They also encourage and enhance people’s engagement and involve taskforce at field-level to keep the Aedes mosquito population under control, he said.
Meanwhile, according to Directorate General of Health Services data, a total of 536 dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals across the country yesterday, of whom 175 were in Dhaka.
The DGHS data shows 82,990 dengue patients -- 45,552 in Dhaka -- were hospitalised across the country this year. Some 2,360 patients are now undergoing treatment.
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