The health department, which is facing an uphill task of managing thousands of dengue patients in the capital Dhaka, is now worried about the upcoming Eid holidays when millions of people will travel outside districts.
The major vector Aedes Aeypti is mostly common in urban settings. But dengue patients have been found across Bangladesh because of public travel.
Director General for Health Services Abul Kalam Azad said they are training up doctors across Bangladesh through video conferencing with the latest management techniques of dengue.
“We are apprehending that cases may go up outside Dhaka because people will travel. We cannot discourage them from travelling. We are taking our preparations,” he said at an interaction with journalists on Monday.
Azad said they have made special allocation to district and Upazilla hospitals so that they can buy whatever is necessary to manage patients without any central approval.
“For district hospitals we have Tk 1 million and for Upazilla hospials Tk 200,000,” he said, adding that all holidays have been cancelled.
According to the government, at least 2,065 patients — 1,159 in Dhaka city and 906 in other divisions — were identified with dengue in 24 hours between Sunday and 8:00am on Monday, reports bdnews24.
With that, the number of cases jumped to 27,437, a record in Bangladesh. Hospitals data suggest about 60 people died across Bangladesh as this year dengue hit with atypical symptoms such as ‘shock syndrome’ following a brief spell of fever. People are advised to see doctors with fever.
Mosquito control is the key as the Aedes mosquito breeds inside home.
WHO senior entomologist BN Nagpal suggested people clean their house once a week for one hour.
He said the “source detection” of the dengue mosquito breeding is the key. “It can breed even in 2 ml water,” he said, showing a cap of a water bottle.
Nagpal said dengue mosquitoes lay eggs not directly inside the water. “They lay eggs on the brim where those eggs can survive as long as one year and when flooded or when the container is fully poured, eggs hatch rapidly."
“It’s a smart mosquito. It does not rest on walls. It rests under the tables, beds, sofas, curtains, hanging clothes and dark places,” he said, suggested spraying in those places.
“But source detection is the key. We should give a plain message to the people that clean your house once in a week for one hour,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka could control the spread of this mosquito with this message involving people.
“We need to give proper message to the community because without community mobilisaiton this disease cannot be controlled,” he said, adding that if people act on the message, in 10 days the disease can come under control.
For larvicide, the WHO senior entomologist suggested the use of Temephos 1 gram in 10 litres of water.