last Sunday during his “Mann ki Baat” radio programme when Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the people of the country to maintain cleanliness to prevent the spread of dengue, he probably had in mind the fact that the vector-borne disease was spreading fast in both North and South India.
latest data available with the Union Health Ministry shows that in northern parts of the country, Delhi tops the list with 25-fold increase in cases. While 33 cases were registered in Delhi in the first eight months of 2014, the number rose to 831 in the corresponding period in 2015. Among southern States, during the corresponding period, Telangana was the worst-hit. Other southern States severely affected by dengue are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Overall, the country has shown an alarming rise in cases of dengue with 17,148 cases registered in just eight months this year against 10,097 cases recorded during the corresponding period last year.
Dengue is caused by four different types of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. The symptoms include fever, headache, muscle, joint pains and skin rash.
There is no specific treatment for dengue but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below one per cent.
Experts have attributed this sharp rise in dengue cases in southern States, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, to poor rainfall and irregular power supply.
In the case of Kerala where dengue is hyperendemic (exhibiting a high and continued incidence), the disease peaks twice a year, during the two rainy seasons. With the onset of monsoon in the State, dengue cases have taken a huge leap, said the experts.
“Studies indicate that South Indian States are facing perceptible fluctuations in climatic conditions, and possibly the health of people is directly or indirectly affected due to these fluctuations.
“Rise in average temperature, an element
of climate change, favours higher breeding and spread of vectors such as Aedes Aegypti, and consequently spread of dengue.
“In general, incidences of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical disease (Flavivirus, an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae), are increasing fast resulting in higher morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical countries,” said R Chandran and PA Azeez from Coimbatore-based Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in the recent issue of the journal Current Science.
Man-made reasons such as urbanization, rapid industralisation and casual approach of the people in checking breeding of the mosquitoes are being attributed as the main reasons for the rise in cases.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry hopes to identify within a week the precise identity of the dengue virus subtype which is reportedly circulating in Delhi and has affected 831 people.
Asserting that it is “geared up” to tackle the spurt in dengue cases, the Ministry has also written a letter to the Urban Development Department urging the latter to allow access to several unoccupied buildings and rooftops to check breeding.