Even as mosquito control measures are on across the district to prevent the spread of dengue and malaria, the dengue situation has touched epidemic proportions at Puthupady, a rural area, State Epidemiologist A. Sukumaran told The Hindu on Tuesday.
Dr. Sukumaran visited Puthupady after the area reported the death of a man owing to dengue shock syndrome, and a steady stream of more dengue positive cases.
40 proven cases, almost always
At any given point in time, Puthupady has 40 proven cases of dengue. “This is the official figure of tested cases in government health centres. There could be more cases that had gone to private hospitals and the data would come up later. Now, add the suspected cases that showed typical symptoms. Together, there could be around 200 cases. That’s why we see this as epidemic proportion,” the health official said. The belt stretching from Puthupady to Mukhom too seems to be reporting dengue cases. Dr. Sukumaran said rain water stagnation was typically high in the rubber plantations in these areas. Besides, disposal of waste was poor in the immediate vicinity of all households. Rain water stagnation in discarded waste enabled mosquito breeding.
Dr. Sukumaran said Puthupady had recorded heavy density of Aedes albopictus species. The urban areas saw a rise in Aedes aegypti species. Both transmitted the dengue-causing flavivirus. The laboratory of the National Centre for Diseases Control at Kallayi here had established the presence of the albopictus variety.
The situation seemed to have gone out of hands, and it suggested that mosquito control measures at Puthupady were not intensive enough. While local bodies and government health centres could step in for vector control, the situation now needed a massive cooperation from the public in preventing the stagnation of even a scoop of water on leaves. Even a wee bit of water stagnating for seven days or more was a potential risk, the official pointed out.
“As of now, a massive breeding source reduction appears a daunting task. To get around this problem, a sanitisation of the immediate surroundings of any detected case of dengue should be done, as these mosquitoes fly over a very short radius around houses,” he said.
