Preparing for dengue

The Punjab government is bracing for the dengue virus season that is about to begin. The health and education departments jointly organised a seminar the other day on "Awareness Campaign Regarding Dengue Virus". It is to be followed by a mass campaign involving ten million students and thousands of teachers who are to distribute pamphlets to enlighten people about the precautionary measures. The government is also expected to soon start carrying out spray and fumigation drives, and also to remove garbage heaps and stagnant water ponds so that they do not become dengue breeding grounds. Notably, at the time of last year's outbreak of the epidemic, experts had warned that it would take several years of intensive efforts to get rid of the dengue mosquito. It is good to note, therefore, that Punjab has decided to include relevant information in school textbooks. Last year was not the dengue's first year in Punjab. The year before, as many as 1600 cases were reported in different parts of the province. In fact, it turns out that the dengue's advent in Pakistan goes back a decade; it is proliferating with the passage of time. The government took a while to grasp the nature and extent of the challenge, remaining oblivious to the menace, until it hit epidemic proportions. It has since learnt its lesson from the havoc the dengue mosquito wreaked in Lahore and later in some other parts of the province. The other provinces must not repeat the same mistake. It may be recalled that last year, hundreds of dengue cases were reported in both Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At one point, dengue patients had outstripped treatment facilities in Karachi hospitals. After what happened in Punjab and in the light of their own respective experience, those provinces should have been readying anti-dengue measures by now. So far there is no sign of any such activity. They would be well-advised to take timely action to counter the impending threat. Towards that end, they can gain from the Punjab government's experience and adopt the required measures. For instance, contrary to what was previously believed, after a long period of travail it was discovered that dengue breeds not only in clean water stored in homes, but also on garbage heaps. More important information to be shared, pertains to the proper use of insecticides and larvicides as well as the timings of sprays and fumigation. Initially the chemicals used for these purposes in Lahore proved to be ineffective not because they were substandard but because of lack of knowledge about dengue specific insecticides and the mosquito's habits. It must be remembered that an anti-dengue vaccine is still in the process of development; the only prevention against this deadly virus is extermination of the carrier mosquito. Sindh and KP governments must do the needful. Copyright Business Recorder, 2012