Jammu and Kashmir has been ailing with dengue for the first half of this year.
There have been nearly 2900 cases of dengue recorded.
The revelation of this huge jump in cases is deeply upsetting.
It’s not just the numbers that are frightening, the data points out a stark warning to the government, local authorities and the general public.
Faulty human behavior and medical systems, which are often taken for granted, and can lead to major failures.
Dengue has, for the most part, been a sporadic problem area-wise in the past. The spike this season speaks volumes of the failure.
The disease vector that we should be targeting urgently is the Aedes aegypti mosquito that breeds in stagnant water.
The mosquito likes to lay eggs and feed on standing water found in things like broken containers, construction sites, blocked drains; and water tanks that are left open.
Access to standing water is all they need and breeding is going at a fast pace due to waterlogging and sanitation problems after monsoon.
The health department has come forward to tackle the situation and has established labs and awareness camps in conjunction. However, merely being reactive may not suffice.
Definitely, the treatment of the ill and infected population is very crucial, yet, it is akin to treating symptoms and not the disease.
Local governments and panchayats should not limit their roles in the promotion of clean-up campaigns that are sustained and well-organized but also fine those individuals and families who allow water to collect on their property.
This initiative should not be viewed as a campaign that is conducted once in a while but rather as a civic obligation that requires compliance throughout the year.
Community awareness is one of the major components of it; people should understand that a single discarded plastic cup or an inadequate flower pot can affect the health of a whole community.
We need to upgrade our monitoring and forecasting infrastructure to better use data for predicting areas of potential infection and thus, proactively targeting them.
That will also require close cooperation between health, sanitation, and meteorological departments which is a kind of coordination that has not been very consistent.
Moreover, the involvement of a community is important at all times.
Indeed, public health officers at their best cannot alone put an end to dengue (and other infectious diseases). The community must play its part.
Every home should do a weekly source reduction by emptying, scrubbing, and then covering water sources. Protective clothing/repellents are measures that an individual can take which in turn also benefit the public.
