Editorial: Don’t overlook dengue danger
City corporations must resume anti-mosquito and larvae destruction drives
At a time when the country is seized with the virulent virus, the prospect of onset of dengue looms ominously on the horizon. In this very column not many weeks ago, we had alerted the administration, busy coping with Covid–19, to be also mindful of this seasonal disease that afflicts us regularly. The untimely rain this year has preponed its onset considerably, facilitating breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, the vector of the disease. Last year, the number of Aedes affected patients had crossed the six figure mark, half of them from Dhaka city itself. Of those, 179 died of the disease. And till Sunday, at least 292 dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals across the country since January 1, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
The dengue hazard couldn't have come at a worst time. When the health system is up to its neck fighting Covid-19, dengue has become an additional burden to our distress. And it has been made even more complicated because of the virtual lockdown in order to prevent the spread of the virus. As a consequence, the anti-mosquito drive has all but stopped in the capital due to the shortage of manpower in the city corporations. One would have thought that the city corporation health workers provided essential services and should have been, as such, outside the ambit of the general prohibitory orders on movement.
We are happy to note that the government has decided to form a "Dengue Monitoring Cell" to fight the disease in the city. We believe that such a cell should be formed without delay. The health workers of the two city corporations should be provided with the necessary protective gears and employed in full swing. Failure to take timely and aggressive action may well prove right the dire prediction of the experts—that if the authorities failed to take necessary steps to control Aedes mosquitoes immediately, there might be a surge in the number of dengue patients, which would pose a serious danger in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.