So far, it has not been a good year on the dengue front. With 42 deaths and 252 hospitalizations, it looks as though we are facing a dengue epidemic as bad as the one witnessed in 2019. When epidemics like this start to occur once every couple of years, it is clear that we have sunk into a new normal where a disease that did not exist within our borders until 2000 is now a part of life.
The immediate need is to beef up our health care infrastructure. Our Health Ministry, which has its hands more than full with the Covid-19 pandemic, cannot afford to drop the ball on dengue either. It is a tall ask at a time like this, but a matter of life and death.
Furthermore, there need to be awareness campaigns, because 21 years after the emergence of dengue, many still do not know enough about how dengue breeds. Stagnant pools of water are the ideal breeding grounds for Aedes larvae so it is imperative that dirty water is not allowed to accumulate within the household, in places like flowerpots, containers, and open water bottles. Air conditioners and refrigerators should regularly be cleaned to avoid potential breeding grounds there.
It is up to the city councils to destroy the larvae in public areas in the city, and clean up dirty pools of water which build up due to our heavy rainfall. In this regard, they have put up a valiant effort, but for the sake of public health, we need to do a lot better. It is precisely because of the Covid-19 pandemic taking up so much of our attention that dengue has become extra dangerous this year.