Financial crisis, to malnutrition and now dengue

Our country is facing near insurmountable problems at this moment. The country has no liquid cash reserves, fuel supplies have been rationed, and food supplies are out of reach of the poorer section of the community. According to latest figures nearly 46% of our population can now be counted as poor. 

UNICEF reported on September 8 that over 5.7 million people, including 2.3 million children, require humanitarian assistance, making it among the top ten countries with the highest number of malnourished children. The UN agency expects the numbers to rise further. 

As though this situation was not bad enough, and to add to our woes, the deadly dengue virus has now begun stalking the land.

Dengue, is a mosquito-borne viral infection is common in warm, tropical climates. Infection is caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses (called serotypes) and these can lead to a wide spectrum of symptoms, including some which are extremely mild (unnoticeable) to those that may require medical intervention and hospitalization. In severe cases, fatalities can, and do occur. 

European Union (EU) data shows that worldwide, there have been 2, 597, 067 cases of dengue as at August 24, with 2,065 deaths reported. Most cases of dengue have been reported from Brazil (1,910, 657), Vietnam (145, 536), Philippines (82, 597), Indonesia (68, 903), and Peru (57, 469).

In our own country, there were a total of 31,162 suspected dengue cases for the year 2020 and 49,149 suspected dengue cases were reported to the Epidemiology Unit from all over the island from January 2022 to up to date (October 18). Latest Disease Trends show approximately 40.8% of dengue cases were reported from the Western province as at October 18, 2022  

The Dengue virus causes high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains and a skin rash. Get it once and, while you certainly won’t enjoy it, you will probably be fine. Get it a second time, and there is a significant chance of it becoming much more serious, leading to dengue haemorrhagic fever, where your blood thins and can leak from your veins.There is no treatment for the infection itself, but the symptoms that a patient experiences can be treated.

According to our Ministry of Health, a total of 586 cases were reported this month - October 2022. Dengue epidemics tend to have seasonal patterns, with transmission often peaking during and after rainy seasons.
In 1970, only nine countries faced severe dengue outbreaks. But the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes that can only survive in warm temperatures, is now seen in more than 100 countries. There are thought to be 390 million infections each year. More than a million of those cases were in South-East Asia.

The global toll of dengue fever is now becoming well-known, with rising temperatures contributing to severe outbreaks. The year 2019, is seen as the worst year on record for the disease.

Water storage tanks, flower pots and vases, garden fountains, bird baths, discarded fridge trays, water dispenser trays, broken cisterns, discarded bottles, tins, discarded tyres, coconut shells etc., are all possible sites for mosquitoes to breed. 

As the dengue mosquito larvae can survive up to one year in dry containers, they should be scrubbed and cleaned at least once a week. 

In addition to vector control measures, people can prevent mosquito bites by taking personal protection measures such as wearing clothes that cover the body and minimizes exposure to mosquito bites. The use of mosquito repellents and mosquito nets as well as installing net screens on doors and windows are among other main recommendations to protect oneself against the dengue mosquito.

Most importantly, it is very necessary to seek medical attention in the event of fever and to do relevant laboratory investigations at least by day three of the illness.

In this sad era of our country, it will not be unexpected if government and/or local authorities spend financially less on dengue prevention programmes. We may therefore not also see as many health inspectors visiting our homes to check for mosquito breeding areas. It is therefore in our own interests to ensure our homes are cleared of mosquito breeding sites.

A failure to do so, will put ourselves, our children and our neighbours at risk of falling victim to the dreaded dengue mosquito.