Why is our authorities’ drive against dengue so unscientific?

It is truly frustrating to see that Bangladesh has faced a grim reality of dengue outbreak and the record number of deaths this year.

The Aedes-borne dengue virus is now being spread to remote areas. When it was limited to Dhaka city, we could not control it properly. But its wave has reached remote areas of the country.

Experts warn of another deadly spell of the virus in the year 2024 if measures to eliminate the disease are not taken immediately.

However, the authorities are resorting to the same tried-and-not-tested methods of mosquito control, without any real effort into understanding whether their approaches are working.

In fact, they have apparently not learned any lessons from this year’s dengue epidemic that saw records both in terms of death toll and hospitalisation.

They alleged that city corporations and other local government bodies are yet to take any measures to prevent another deadly outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease during monsoon next year.

The authorities do not seem to be procuring the equipment needed for effective surveillance. To them, they are rather likely to follow the same old methods that are ineffective. Judging by what happened this year, experts say the situation may worsen the next year unless there is a proper plan and effective surveillance from the beginning.

They recommend that the government make a national plan outlining the ways to control Aedes mosquitoes and the type of insecticide to use. They also suggested the local government ministry should train employees of the city corporations, zila parishads, and union parishads in this respect.

Experts say as of December 22, over 3.20 lakh people have been diagnosed with the disease this year. Of them, 1,692 died, according to data from the DGHS. However, they point out that the data does not reflect the real picture because a large number of dengue infections and subsequent deaths go unreported.

A case is recorded only when an individual receives inpatient treatment at one of the 138 hospitals that send information to the DGHS. The rest of the country’s around 16,000 facilities do not provide the health directorate with data.

Raising public consciousness is crucial in reducing the risk of this fatal disease. And the government is primarily responsible for educating the public, running campaigns, and taking appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of the disease. If we do not mitigate the deadly disease, the country will soon be in great peril.