Preparing for the dengue challenge

Lahore being the hardest hit by a dengue fever epidemic earlier this year, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is getting ready for another spell, which is likely to start in the second week of February and last till the first week of April. The other day, the LDA hosted an awareness seminar on "Causes and Prevention of Dengue Fever", where its Director General noted that it is not a disease but a social problem, which can be controlled by involving the community. He advised the people to make use of anti-mosquito sprays in their homes and offices. For its part, the Authority is to establish a free helpline for carrying out anti-mosquito fogging and rectifying other dengue-related complaints in the LDA housing schemes as well as housing societies approved by it. Indeed, it is matter of satisfaction that the provincial and city authorities have learnt their lessons from the appalling dengue epidemic experience, and are preparing in advance to deal with the menace. There are lessons in it for the other provinces, too. It may be recalled that despite early warnings of the dengue fever threat in the February-April period, the Punjab government had failed to take a timely notice and adopt necessary measures to control it. Consequently, in the monsoon season the dengue came back to wreak havoc in Lahore, later spreading to other parts of the province. In that second season, many dengue cases were reported in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well, but like Punjab before them, the governments in those provinces remained unmoved. Let alone preventive measures, the Sindh government didn't even have adequate treatment facilities in place. Frustrated, a citizen approached the Sindh High Court complaining that 269 cases of dengue fever had been reported in different parts of the province, and that sufficient arrangements were not available in hospitals. Acting on the complaint in September, a divisional bench of the Sindh High Court had ordered the government to file a report on prevention as well as treatment facilities in hospitals. Still, the end of the dengue season seems to have ended the interest in the problem as well. The warning at the LDA seminar about the return of dengue is as an important reminder that it remains a clear and constant danger. The time to prepare for the challenge is rather short. Based on the experience in Punjab and relevant officials' interaction with experts from other dengue-affected countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, more is known than before regarding control measures. For instance, previously dengue was believed to breed in clean water only. Now it is said to thrive just as happily in garbage dumps. Better information is also available on the effectiveness of dengue-specific insecticides. It is hoped that the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments will learn from the example of Punjab and adopt timely measures to fend off the deadly dengue mosquito. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011