Govt all set to combat dengue menace

Are citizens ready to do their part?:

By Charnika Imbulana MUNASINGHE

The Government is fully geared to combat the dengue menace from all fronts with all requirements to combat the disease expected to be in place in the month of August - a month considered to see a spike in dengue cases due to the long monsoon season.

The Sunday Observer spoke to Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena to find out the latest measures taken by the Government to contain the spread.

He said the much talked about Cuban Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis or BTI, which can kill the mosquito at the larvae stage, is expected to be delivered to Sri Lanka, within the timeframe usually taken for such purchases - in the third week of August. The local BTI bacteria is expected to be released to the market in two weeks. The Cuban BTI bacteria will be used in a pilot project in Kandy while the local BTI will be utilised in all dengue-infested areas.

Two hundred bottles of the medication Dexta 48 will also be flown in from Thailand with the assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday. The medication will help patients who have reached the haemorrhagic state. These will be distributed to the hospitals that require them.

The third week of August - from 16 to 22 - has been declared as the Dengue Prevention Week. August 2, 9, 21 and 28 have also been declared as special days on the national dengue prevention program, scheduled to be carried out islandwide, and includes public awareness campaigns and clean-up operations.

With all these measures now in place, a clean environment is paramount in the eradication of dengue-unclean dengue-infested locations, in fact, are the root cause of this terrible evil. It is then the duty of all citizens to keep their environments clean and take preventive measures, which is the only long-term solution. A combination of Government efforts together with the cooperation of the society to comply with the prevention measures and controls is then mandatory, if this latest scourge that has plagued the country is to be eradicated.

There have been 21,486 dengue cases and 158 deaths up to July 20. The Ministry of Health Epidemiology Unit expects the numbers to rise in the coming weeks due to the continuing rains. The number of cases this year is on par with the 22,256 cases reported till the end of July 2009. The Government has reported 2,669 cases in July so far, compared to 3,310 in June and 1,910 in May.

Surveys carried out in the provinces found that “more than 50 to 60 percent of households had turned into perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes due to the lack of cleanliness.”

With a number of measures taken to combat the disease, the biggest obstacle now faced in the eradication of this dreaded disease was described by Minister Sirisena as: “The required co-operation from certain sections of the public is still not forthcoming for our health officials who are on a house-to-house campaign to educate the people. Most often than not the health officials are chased away and the inspection for larvae-infected locations on their households and the assistance that could be given for public safety are not allowed. We have decided to take legal action against those who fail to clean their gardens as well as those who dump garbage in public places. This is already in operation.

“I set up a Presidential Task force to eradicate dengue within the first month after assuming office. This is very effective,” he said.

On the allegations certain members of the opposition are making about a delay in importing the BTI Cuban bacteria, the Health Minister said. “When a request is made from one government to another government, there are procedures to follow, and there has been no delay other than the timeframe that is naturally taken for matters between two governments of the two countries.”

Deposited funds

“We are not dealing with a company from which we can purchase the bacteria over-the-counter, like purchasing a cake of soap. This is understood by any right-thinking and educated person. The Government has already deposited funds of around US $ 260,000 for the purchase of 10,000 units of the Cuban BTI bacteria”.

“It is after the order is placed, and the payment deposited, that the Cuban health officials commence producing the bacteria. This is the normal procedure. ‘The Government has already deposited the sum required and have informed the Cuban authorities to send this bacteria to us as soon as possible. In the meantime the local bacteria will also be released to the market in two weeks.”

“The Health Ministry does not hold the sole responsibility of controlling dengue. There are many other institutions involved such as the Ministries dealing with the subjects of Environment and Education and others such as provincial councils and Local Government institutions that extend their support to eradicate this disease,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking on public support that’s vital for this operation the Government has launched, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday urged the public to do their duty towards the country. “They should take measures to clean up their gardens and then we can eliminate this menace that is dengue”, he said.

He assured that the Government will meet the cost of any remedial measures that need to be adopted to save lives from dengue.

The Health Minister said the three Armed Forces, Police and the STF have been called into fight this war on dengue. Health officials say that most of the breeding areas are man-made and can be eliminated.

Tyres, discarded canisters and even flower pots with excess water can all serve as deadly breeding grounds. The larvae will mature within 10 days, so there need to be constant vigilance. “We shouldn’t wait until an epidemic breaks out to do clean-ups,” they said.

Meanwhile, as this writer observes, it seems to be the pastime of some to talk of how others should carry out a job. This seems to be the role of some of the Opposition members in the battle against dengue.

But if they clean their own backyards, half the battle is won. As a responsible Opposition, the role should be to help the Government in eradicating this menace and not in criticising a procedure that takes its normal course which is beyond the control of any government. It is best that only those who know the subject speak or give constructive criticism on these matters publicly, when speaking on behalf of a responsible opposition.

The Opposition is so busy with the blame game and haven’t come up with a comprehensive plan or proposal themselves as to what they can do in this national crisis.

There are far more productive measures that the Opposition can adopt as some individuals, organisations and schools conducting cleaning campaigns have shown, by cleaning out their own backyard, doing their bit to combat the menace that has got the death toll rising.

The image of the Opposition has taken a further beating with the party image being judged on those members who are speaking out on the disease, displaying the sheer lack of substance on the subject.

This is the same attitude they adopted when the Government was fighting terrorism. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where such attitudes, have got the Opposition today.

According to the WHO, dengue has grown dramatically worldwide. Some 2.5 billion people-two fifths of the world’s population-are now at risk.

It is estimated that there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year. As of June 30, Indonesia had reported 67,719 cases and 511 deaths, while Thailand had recorded 3,496 cases and five deaths as at April.

According to the Epidemiology Unit, this latest outbreak in Sri Lanka is unlikely to be the last, making public awareness all the more important, and clean-up operations continued, until a possible vaccine is developed.