The deadly dengue mosquito has spread its wings in alarming proportions across Goa, sending shivers down the spines of coastal areas like Calangute and Candolim, besides villages of Aldona, Santa Cruz, Chimbel, Ponda, Bicholim and even the port town of Vasco. As of September 25, there were 1,392 dengue cases reported in the State.
The capital city has its share of worries, with an increasing number of patients being treated on a daily basis. Besides Panaji, dengue has also been reported in Caranzalem and Dona Paula, and a private hospital has been registering nearly 50 per cent of its admissions for dengue treatment.
Surprisingly, around 16 dengue-related deaths have been recorded across Goa to date this year, and there is panic in the air over an increasing number of areas showing in dengue-affected list. On the flip side, the nodal officer controlling the vector-borne diseases at DHS, Panaji, does a comparative data to state that Goa is better off than last year.
While the fast spread of dengue has been problematic for everyday citizens, officials attribute the spurt to water pooling due to the receding monsoon. The health minister has indeed held a review meeting of all chief officers of municipalities and health officers for better surveillance of dengue, but the spread has continued to spiral up. The aggressive approach seems to have not worked.
The health ministry may have been geared to treat patients and help in a speedy recovery besides maintaining strict compliance with SOPs, but the State has fallen short on containment measures. On Wednesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya directed all officials to be fully geared up and strengthen prevention, containment and management measures in the fight against dengue.
Interestingly, the Centre has called for tools like Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing technology to monitor flooded areas and manage the situation. The point is that such tools can identify areas of flooding or accumulation of rainwater, tracing all vulnerable population hotspots and accordingly strategising interventions and actions.
Dengue and malaria are at their peak during the monsoon, and both are directly related to water accumulation. The State health ministry may be confident in treating cases, but the problem is with tackling this yearly menace at its roots. We agree that fogging is a conventional method to combat the Aedes mosquitos that cause dengue, but that’s the only tool at the disposal to contain the situation. And it has worked in the past.
Earlier this month, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi announced that it is deploying 1,000 fogging machines in 250 wards of Delhi. The corporation has decided to crack down by issuing challans to residences where larvae were found. Breeding spots were identified in all zones, and more than 3,000 workers were on the field going door-to-door to spot mosquito breeding sites and contain them.
The Goa government needs to get proactive and begin containment measures in hotspots. Besides continuing to create awareness, breeding areas must be identified urgently, and fogging must be initiated, even if it is not a permanent remedy. We must step up action before the killer mosquito takes control.
