Record single-day dengue deaths in Nov: Does govt have any plan for future?

Dengue fever has now become such an endemic problem. On Tuesday, Bangladesh witnessed the highest single-day deaths – 24 – from dengue and that also in the middle of November with additional 1,623 dengue patients admitted to different hospitals in the country.

The total figure of deaths this year stood at 1,420, and the total number of patients rose to 296,665. These figures are in the official record book, but the actual number of deaths and patients must be higher.

Why are deaths from dengue increasing every year? When there are visibly no efforts to eliminate Aedes mosquito and larvae, the present intensity of the viral disease can only be expected.

According to the entomologists, mosquito control measures and low or no surveillance are responsible for the uptick in the Aedes larvae population.

The municipal authorities all across the country have shrugged off their responsibility to stop the Aedes larvae production. But urbanisation ups the growth of Aedes albopictus larvae and industrialised areas turn into safe havens for the smaller human killers.

Unplanned urbanisation becomes a boon for mosquito breeding. Since dengue is eradicated by killing mosquitoes, city corporations, municipalities, local governments will have to take their share of blame for the record deaths from dengue this year.

The health ministry also has to share the blame. They have not carried out dengue prevention activities round the year through integrated vector management. It appears that deaths are merely numbers to the government, city corporations and municipalities as they lack any plan.

It has been alleged that there is corruption and populism everywhere in the process of mosquito management. The relevant authorities must buy and spray effective adulticide and larvicide all through the year. We urge the authorities concerned to be proactive against Aedes mosquitoes and stay active round the year to prevent the mosquito menace.

From the government, it is often said that the people have a responsibility to remain aware of dengue. But can the government deny that it has a bounden responsibility to take adequate steps to make them aware of the disease?

Though after October, it is expected that the monsoonal disease would gradually disappear, in the middle of November the disease is ferociously persisting. The relevant authorities, including the two city corporations in Dhaka and elsewhere as well as all municipalities of the country, would learn from this year’s failure and take all-out measures to control mosquitoes round the year, not just in the monsoon.