With more than three and a half lakh people already having been infected with dengue fever, as per a report by the daily Prothom Alo on July 23, the dengue situation in the country has gone totally out of control. However, data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) shows that a total of 7,766 people have been infected till July 23 this year. This is because the DGHS only keeps track of data of some particular hospitals and clinics, and those who were infected but did not go to a hospital were excluded from government estimates.

The national dailies kept tabs on the dengue situation from time to time, starting from early this year. But the reports could hardly make the authorities, who are entrusted with the responsibility of mosquito control in the city, act. Now that the situation has taken a critical turn, with public health experts and the High Court terming the disease an epidemic, and after several directives given by the HC to the two city corporations, suddenly the authorities seem to have woken up to this horrid reality. Both the city corporations, the DGHS, as well as the LGRD ministry have now begun planning in terms of taking preventive measures to stop the disease from spreading further.

The city corporations’ lackadaisical response to the HC directives has raised a question about their efficiency in people’s minds. It was evident from their inaction that they did not take the issue of mosquito control seriously when the HC, on July 2, directed them to take steps to prevent mosquito menace and control the spread of dengue for the first time.

As the city corporations were not doing anything substantial to contain the outbreak, on July 14, the HC again directed the relevant authorities to take steps within 24 hours. And finally, on July 17, when the HC termed the dengue outbreak an epidemic and slammed the two city corporations for their failure to combat the mosquito menace, the two city corporations seemed to begin giving the issue some importance.

Reportedly, the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has cancelled leave of all officials of its waste and health management departments in a bid to control the spread of the disease. The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) authorities have also opened a hotline number for its residents to provide primary healthcare facilities. Also, committees have been formed in every ward of the city to raise awareness about the disease.

But the question is, are these steps making any impact? Prothom Alo on July 24 reported that the city corporations’ mosquito control activities are nothing but superficial. And till now, we have not seen any progress in the situation, as more and more patients are being admitted to city hospitals every day. On July 23 alone, a record 473 people were hospitalised in the city.

It is simply not understandable as to why the city corporations would have to wait for the HC’s directives to do something which should be their routine work. Many city dwellers do not even remember the last time they heard of the fogging machine or witnessed any cleaning drives in their area.

And what about the mosquito control department? Despite the city dwellers’ sufferings because of the mosquito menace, the department, with their 281 staff members, has been sitting idle. In fact, many residents of Dhaka have come to know about the existence of the department only recently. Although the department, established in 1948, had been very effective in fighting malaria back then, it is not empowered enough to act on its own in the present day. The irony is that the office building of the department itself is now serving as a mosquito-breeding ground, as one of our reporters found while visiting the place recently. Although experts suggested that the department should be brought under the two city corporations, we haven’t heard of any decision regarding this yet.

Let me now come to the issue of ineffective insecticides. On July 9, Prothom Alo ran a report on how traditional insecticides have been failing to kill the Aedes mosquitoes. According to their report, the scientists of icddr,b had done a research study from December 2017 till March 2018 and found Aedes mosquitoes to be resistant to the regular insecticides. The research findings were revealed on May 22, 2018 before the relevant authorities. Research done by the Health Directorate in 2018 also found the same. But what is most unfortunate is that 14 months after informing the research findings to the concerned authorities, no decision was taken to buy new, effective insecticides. What is more, the committee formed recently to decide on the new insecticides has not yet held a single meeting.

What was most surprising was that although the two city corporations knew that the age-old insecticides were not effective anymore, they still bought the same insecticides in the last fiscal year. Reportedly, the DSCC bought insecticides worth Tk 19 crore and the DNCC worth Tk 18 crore.

When it was reported that the traditional insecticides were not effective, one of our mayors commented that the insecticides they were using to kill the mosquitoes were “slightly less effective than promised.” And when deaths of dengue patients were already reported in the media, instead of assuring the public that appropriate action was being taken, he told the city residents not to panic. It was evident from the mayor’s comments that the city corporations were, in fact, clueless about the impending danger of dengue outbreak.

Dengue fever was first detected in Bangladesh in 2000. Over the years, the disease has taken a deadly form, as apparently, the serotype of the virus has changed. And according to healthcare professionals, dengue is now an endemic disease in the country, meaning that it is here to stay throughout the year. It is also feared that the dengue situation will become more severe with each coming year.

What it means for the two city corporations is that they will constantly have to be on high alert, especially during monsoon which is the breeding season of the Aedes mosquitoes. As for now, they should continue with their cleaning drives and awareness campaigns. They should also import new insecticides as early as possible.

If both the city corporations perform their responsibilities efficiently from now onwards, there is still a chance that we will win against this disease this time. Already 28 lives have been lost because of our negligence. We hope no more lives will be lost to this preventable disease.

Naznin Tithi is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.

Source: The Daily Star.