In the current year, a record number of people suffered from Dengue. Never before in Bangladesh so many patients have been admitted in hospitals for any disease in a particular year. As per government record so far, 99,755 people have been affected by Dengue of whom 98,972 persons went home after treatment.
Even now, around 100 people are being admitted to the hospital with Dengue. So far, 121 persons have died. Experts say that to prevent Dengue, a year-long strategy has to be adopted. Else, it may return next year in epidemic proportions.
To control Dengue, the Health Department now has a plan. Civic officials, doctors and specialists held a meeting on Nov 21 to review the situation.
Assistant director of the health department, Dr Ayesha Akhter, said: “The health department held a meeting about the strategy to be followed next year to contain Dengue. We will have to work together.”
Though Dengue was believed to be a city based disease, it had spread all over the country, she added.
Referring to the high incidence of Dengue in Khulna and Barishal, she underlined the need to provide special training.
Entomologist Kabirul Bashar commented: “We cannot stop drives against mosquito borne diseases; these need to continue. Three to four kinds of repellents need to be prepared.”
City corporations must complete the process of importing necessary repellents, he added.
Preventive medicine specialist Dr Lenin Chowdhury, said: “Aedes mosquitoes need to be terminated. A coordinated mosquito eradication programme has to be undertaken which will work from the city corporation to the village levels.”
“To kill mosquitoes, chemical control, biological control and environmental control need to be done in unison and people have to be aware, so that individual efforts are also made to eradicate mosquitoes.”
There must be a research to find effective inoculation for Dengue, he observed.