Tamil Nadu: Going viral over dengue

With the state having seen its first few dengue deaths this year, especially among children, notwithstanding a strong campaign on the viral fever, the question arises as to how adequate are the measures being taken by the government, as well as by the Greater Chennai Corporation.

While the government has taken up multi-pronged measures to create awareness among the public about the importance of sanitation and checking the breeding of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which causes the disease, health officials say that the awareness has not sufficiently brought about a change in the behaviour of the public. “Everybody is aware of the fact that these mosquitoes breed in places where fresh water collects and that it must be prevented.

However, people continue to attribute the blame to open drainage or a garbage pile, which are likely to cause other diseases, but not dengue. While those aspects have to be taken care of, participation in the preventive measures on the breeding of the aedes mosquito is also important,” said Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan

Stating that awareness is one of the reasons that the inpatient wards in hospitals have been recording higher numbers of fever cases this year, he said, “We are encouraging people to come up with a more accurate report and we are also urging officials and doctors to avoid hiding figures. We accept that an improper case management can cause deaths which can be prevented. While sustainable solution is cause management, we are addressing case management in the immediate period, so that delayed referral, over administration of fluids or under administration of fluids and other issues are not there.” 

Despite awareness of the disease, and the fear of contracting it, there is a lack of seriousness on adopting preventive measures, say officials.

“During one of our door to door awareness campaigns, one of our field workers complained that residents were not taking their instructions seriously,” said Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director, Public Health Department.

“While we, along with the Corporation, are trying our best to check the occurrence of the disease, people from the community must also contribute by keeping their premises clean,” he added. Unlike in the past, it has been seen that patients hurry to hospitals as soon as they develop fever, apprehensive that it could be dengue. “Parents of the children who come to us are usually educated. And also, the fear about this disease has hit everyone. Many of the patients would have gone in for prior check-up to smaller hospitals before coming to us,” said Dr M Sridhar, Consultant Pediatrician, Apollo Children’s Hospital.

Awareness on low platelet count is another factor that is found to be lacking among many. “One of our patients was brought in with fever and terrible weakness. We had to explain to him what platelet count meant and why count of below 80,000 was serious,” said a doctor from a government

hospital. “As there is no prescribed treatment, doctors should ensure that patients are aware of the need to consume plenty of fluids for recovery and the need for transfusion, if their platelet counts falls too low,” added the doctor.

Urging the public to take this seriously, Dr Kolandaswamy said, “The issue is not merely about prevention. Better management can help bring down the burden on our state.”

Dengue: It is a viral infection commonly spread by the Aedes egypti mosquito. The virus is transmitted from one person to another by the bites of infected female mosquitoes. These mosquitoes are distinguishable due to the white spots on its legs. The mosquitoes breed in clear water. Dengue also spreads when these mosquitoes bite an infected person and then bite an uninfected individual. Around 3.9 billion people across the world are estimated to be at risk of contracting dengue.

Chikungunya: This is also a virus spread by the same mosquito. The infection typically develops two to twelve days after exposure

Malaria: This is also a mosquito-borne infectious disease affecting humans and other animals. If not properly treated, people may have a recurrence of the disease months later. It is caused by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito, which breeds in both, fresh and muddy water. The signs and symptoms of malaria typically begin 8–25 days following the infection

Seasonal flu: Influenza or seasonal flu is an acute respiratory viral infection that spreads easily from person to person. It circulates worldwide and can affect people in any age group. The infection spreads fairly easily, with rapid transmission in crowded areas, including schools and nursing homes. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, droplets containing viruses (infectious droplets) are dispersed into the air and are spread to persons in close proximity who ‘inhale’ these droplets. It can also spread by hands contaminated with the influenza virus