Dengue Menace: Aedes control efforts not up to the mark

The number of dengue patients will be higher this year than last year and most of the cases will be from outside Dhaka, said experts.

Last year, almost two thirds of the dengue patients were from outside Dhaka, yet steps are not adequate from the authorities concerned to control Aedes mosquitoes at the local level.

The country last year witnessed 1,705 dengue-related deaths and 3.21 lakh dengue cases, of which 2.11 lakh were from outside Dhaka.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 1,740 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country till April 4 this year and 1,135 of them were from outside Dhaka.

The trend of people being infected with dengue from outside Dhaka is high this year since the outbreak of the disease in 2000, data show.

Prof Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University, told The Daily Star that the location of a patient should be identified to destroy the breeding places of Aedes mosquitoes, which would helpprevent the dengue.

But it is not being followed properly outside Dhaka, said sources indifferent city corporations.

Bashar said as per their recent survey findings, the number of dengue cases is high this year and there will more cases outside Dhaka than last year.

"We are getting Aedes larvae in high densities outside Dhaka, and this is one of the main reasons that dengue cases will be at an all-time high this year."

He added that in many areas outside Dhaka, dengue cases are being recorded for the first time. This is another reason for the high number of cases this year.

Chattogram City Corporation is yet to start a crash programme to kill the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes, the carrier of dengue virus, though the disease hit the port city hard last year, said city dwellers.

Hamidullah Mehedi, junior consultant of medicine department at Chittagong General Hospital and one of the researchers of a joint study on dengue in Chattogram, said, "Around 20 percent patients in Chattogram still did not know that the mosquitoes are the main cause of dengue.

"Around 50 percent patients did not know that stagnant water increases the spread of Aedes mosquitoes while around 40 percent patients did not use mosquito nets."

Contacted, Sushanta Barua, member secretary of Public Health Rights Protection Committee Chattogram chapter, said, "As there is no entomologist in Chattogram City Corporation, effective action cannot be taken to destroy Aedes mosquitoes."

He added that the administration is yet to take any steps to raise public awareness on the reduction of mosquito breeding.

He said, "If the mayor and councillors of Chattogram City Corporation can go door-to-door to seek votes during elections, why are they not doing so to prevent dengue now?"

CCC officials claimed that the drives to destroy mosquito larvae are going on in 41 wards of the city, but residents in many areas said they did not see any proactive role of the CCC authorities to kill the larvae.

"Our workers spray larvicide to kill the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes," said Commander Latiful Haque Kazmi, chief conservancy officer of CCC, adding, "We have 41 teams in 41 wards who are spraying insecticide regularly.

"Besides, we have a central team of 80 people who spray larvicide in different areas," he said, adding, "As Aedes mosquitoes lay eggs in transparent water, we will go for a campaign to create awareness among people so that they keep their surroundings clean and not let water accumulate for over three days."

Anisur Rahman, chief conservancy officer of Khulna City Corporation, told this newspaper that they have increased their activities to prevent dengue.

"We buy larvicide, adulticide and various oils to spray them round the year. We would have got better results if the health department and the district administration helped us," he added.

Meanwhile, Barishal Divisional Health Director Shyamal Krishna Mandal said that as usual, health workers visit houses and tell the residents to use mosquito repellents and keep their houses clean.

Swapan Kumar Das, in-charge of Barishal City Corporation's Sanitation Department, said 100 workers are spraying insecticide to kill the larvicide.

[Our correspondents Arun Bikash Dey of Chattogram, Sushanta Ghosh of Barishal, and Dipankar Roy of Khulna contributed to this report.]