No respite from dengue threat
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: October 11, 2024 -

As almost all of the low lying areas in the Imphal valley and outlaying districts faced flood twice earlier this year, there were apprehensions that the state would inevitably see outbreak of vector borne diseases.

With the fear turning into a reality as the state remains in the gripof dengue, afflicting over 1000 people and claiming the lives of three as on date, there is hardly anything the government authorities could do to prevent spread of the disease other than waiting for improvement of the situation on its own and consistently reminding the public to follow the preventive guidelines.

Taking into account of the fact that there has been no report of dengue cases in the hill districts, flood waters in different localities across the valley districts remaining stagnant for days could be the primary factor for the outbreak of dengue, thereby necessitating holistic measures to prevent flooding and proactive involvement of relevant departments without which the state shall have to brace for unprecedented outbreak of vector-borne diseases as well as contamination of water bodies.

As per the account of health department officials, Imphal West and Imphal East districts are the worst-affected with the latter district accounting for 700 cases of the vector-borne disease.

With the government-run hospitals - Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) already running out of beds, and treatment/medication procedures bereft of comprehensiveness, it could be safely stated that outbreak of dengue and other vector-borne diseases would be witnessed in the coming years as well.

To prevent the spread of the dengue, said to be common vector-borne viral disease in areas having tropical and subtropical conditions, the state malaria department has been carrying out regular fogging in over 60 densely populated areas, including Keishamthong, Keishampat, Sega Road, Haobam Marak, Lalambung, Uripok, Lamphel, Thangmeiband, Khurai Telipati and Bamon Leikai.

However, with the on-going fogging measures in collaboration with locality level organisations seem to be having insignificant effect, the few options left for residents in dengue hotspots are sanitising their surroundings, using mosquito repellents, and more importantly contacting the government-appointed officials entrusted to monitor the situation as and when someone is suspected to be dengue positive.

As it is now crystal clear that the government-initiated preventive measures wouldn't be stopping spread of the disease, responsibility to contain dengue naturally falls on the individual families.

That the state is facing a grim situation could be comprehended from dengue cases overwhelming general as well as major private hospitals amid spike in cases of dengue fever, especially in the urban pockets.

As per the official record, three deaths and 1439 cases have been recorded in the state in between January to October 9 this year.

Dreadfully, many of the comorbid patients in hospitals are also said to be struggling for survival.

Thus, people should pay heed to the appeals made by the health department officials for collective efforts in combating the fatal disease, preventing mosquito breeding and keeping in mind those infected with the virus a second time are at a significantly greater risk of developing severe disease.