While battling the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health and Sports is also planning to fight another deadly disease at the national level during the coming rainy season – dengue fever.
According to the Ministry of Health and Sports, the number of dengue cases in 2017, 2018 and 2019 reached about 80,000, with some 450 deaths.
There is no typically prescribed medicine to offer treatment for dengue fever, except for relief from pain. And it is worth remembering that the number of yearly deaths caused by dengue fever is higher than COVID-19 fatalities, so far this year.
Dengue should not be taken lightly, as it has directly affected more people than COVID-19.
The number of dengue cases is often observed to increase at the beginning of the four-month rainy season, which starts in June.
As the rainy season is drawing near, we should also focus on other diseases, such as waterborne diseases and influenza, along with leptospirosis, which occurs during the rainy season.
No doubt, we will have to face the two diseases at the same time soon, which will require intensive attention from the health care system to prevent great harm to the population.
Containing the dengue outbreak depends on how we systematically and effectively manage the public health services.
The yearly outbreak of the Aedes mosquito-borne disease has been creating a panicked situation in densely populated areas.
The vector-borne disease is caused by the daytime bites of the Aedes mosquitoes. Its larvae are born in clean rain water that collects in littered containers, such as green-coconut shells, along with the hundreds of types of pots and cans thrown away after being used.
By using the same strategies, such as high public awareness about COVID-19, we can prevent dengue fever by eliminating dengue hot spots.
Meanwhile, the increased hand hygiene our people are practicing daily in the face of COVID-19 can be considered the bright side of the global pandemic, as hand washing is crucial to ensure reducing health-care associated infections, including seasonal flu from other pathogens, which account for an estimated 8 million deaths each year throughout the world.
Continuing the battle against the crippling COVID-19, and coping with the creeping outbreak of dengue fever, appears to pose a dual challenge to the health authorities. However, we are confident that the COVID-19 strategy, with the participation of the people, will be useful in the war to be waged against two diseases at one time.-GNLM
