There is good news and bad on the health front for Goa. The State government’s plans to digitize and have a centralised record of patients visiting health centres, district hospitals and the Goa Medical College Hospital is a welcome idea and will go a long way in diagnosis and treatment, especially when patients in Goa are known not to recall health records and history of treatments undertaken. At an age where IT has made giant inroads into healthcare, this innovative move could bring about a paradigm shift in approach although the three-month deadline to kick off the project appears unrealistic given the fact that it has to work out a lot of modalities – from hiring data operators to ensuring steady internet network. The primary challenge for this project would be to establish reliable connectivity, without which there could be bigger chaos.
Now for the bad news. While the healthcare segment is looking up with the Covid pain easing off, it is dengue that is raising its ugly head and going on a rampage. The vector-borne disease is spreading thick and fast with multiple cases being reported in various pockets of Goa. A remote village of Morpilla reported around 30 cases of dengue in the past 3 months. There are 43 cases reported in the five villages of Sattari. Ponda health centre had reported around 38 cases in the past few days while detection in the port town and capital city is also on the rise.
Health officers and officials appear confident in arresting the spread, but with school re-opening around the corner, dengue becomes the latest threat to young students. This could be a serious health hazard going into the monsoon and hence the health department must monitor the situation closely and swing into action with awareness campaigns, education and fumigation at mosquito-breeding spots, school and college campuses and construction sites. The need of the hour is to dispel myths and look at the facts. The State programme officer for the vector-borne disease control programme has recently stated that fogging may not be the absolute solution to the problem and added that it could do more harm than good if done indiscriminately leading to side effects in humans with respiratory issues. Targetting sources is crucial because even small quantities of accumulated water could help the dengue mosquito to breed rapidly.
Goa has been having its brush with dengue annually, but it is only getting worse in recent times. If we may recall, Goa witnessed one of its worst phases recording around 1,000 dengue cases in 2021, that too amid a ravaging pandemic. There is a greater fear that we could witness an exponential rise if the early infection rate is anything to go by, and against the background that dengue normally hits its peak in August.
The rest of the world may be grappling with Monkeypox and the latest variants of Covid, but in Goa, it is dengue for now, and while healthcare has bounced back from the Covid pain, it will have to stand up and face another challenge.
