‘Keep calm and see a doctor’

The 10 days when Sangita Rahman and her husband spent sleepless nights beside their five-year-old daughter Ruzaina, were the longest days of their lives.

Ruzaina was admitted to a hospital with dengue early his month, and has recovered.

The couple were so worried for their only child that they, even now, keep their doors and windows closed all day and use mosquito repellents almost once every hour.

“We now suffer from breathing problems at home,” said Sangita, a housewife from Dhanmondi.

“We are yet to recover from the trauma we went through. Our situation has become such that we spend more money to kill mosquitoes than on food,” she added.

Sangita shared the experiences at a roundtable on dengue prevention yesterday, organized by Bangla daily Prothom Alo in association with Labaid Group, at the newspaper’s office in the capital.

Speaking on the occasion, doctors and health experts, however, urged city dwellers not to panic over the Aedes mosquito-borne disease. Instead, they suggested people to visit a doctor immediately and go through a dengue diagnosis for any type of fever.

They also criticised authorities of both Dhaka city corporations for delay in starting mosquito control activities.

Prominent physician Prof ABM Abdullah said dengue is a common disease which occurs in the country every year, but people are panicked this year because an outbreak took place and the disease is spreading so quickly.

“Please don’t be panicked. It is not a dangerous disease… not as fatal [like cancer and AIDS],” he said, addressing city dwellers.

About treatment, the former dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said transfusion of blood and platelets are required only if the patient’s condition is critical. Or else, transfusion may become harmful.

The professor also said chances of spreading dengue in rural areas through infected people during the upcoming Eid vacation is very low, as the presence of Aedes mosquitoes, the sole carrier of the disease, is almost nil there.

Prof Nazrul Islam, former vice-chancellor of BSMMU, said immediate diagnosis is a must, because symptoms of the disease don’t appear in the conventional way nowadays.

He suggested people who have already suffered from dengue to be more cautious, as becoming infected by the virus more than once is dangerous.

Eminent educationist Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed urged city corporation authorities to carry out two massive cleaning programmes -- one before monsoon and another in the middle of the season -- to control mosquitos.

He also called upon the mayors to clean the city regularly, and sought cooperation from dwellers to maintain the cleanliness.

Talking about their initiatives, Sharif Ahmed, chief health officer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), said authorities of both city corporations in a recent meeting decided to import new pesticides to boost mosquito control activities.

Prof MA Khan, head of haematology department at Dhaka Medical College Hospital; Prof FM Siddiqui, a medicine specialist at Labaid Hospital; Prof Abdul Mannan, a neonatal specialist at Labaid Hospital; MM Aktaruzzaman, programme manager (dengue) of Department of Health Services; and Abdul Quayum, associate editor of Prothom Alo, also spoke at the discussion.