Dear Editor,
The fact that more than a dozen cases of dengue have been reported from different districts of Jammu region is a matter of concern and should serve as a wake up call to the the people in general and Health Department of J and K in particular. Dengue has already wrecked havoc in Delhi and other regions across the country taking a toll of more than thirty people in Delhi alone and more than five thousand patients having been reported as suffering from dengue in the capital city of India.There is need for different agencies and departments such as Health Department,Civic Bodies like Municipal Corporations/ Councils etc to act in unison to check the spread of dengue. Vigorous compaign needs to be launched to aware the people,especially those living in remote and farflung areas, about precautions to be observed to protect themselves from dengue.They also need to be enlightened about the symptoms of dengue and the need to rush the patient to hospitals well in time in case they detect sympotoms of dengue..Luckily, no patient suffering from denge has died in our State but we can’t be complacent in respect of measures to check the spread of dengue.Areas more prone to be the breeding spots need to be fogged.The anti- larva fishes too need to be released in more ponds and other stationary water bodies having stagnant water to control the spread of this vector borne disease.All the hospitals and civic bodies across the affected region must be put on high alert to deal with the situation should it arise.
Though the government has taken effective measures such as training of the staff and supply of testing kits to the district hospitals,creation of isolation wards in each district hospital, fogging of affected areas etc.,massive awareness programme through lectures in schools/ colleges, and advisories through print/ electronic media should be launched to aware the people about various preventive measures to control the population/spread of mosquitoes, such as filling and drainage of the breeding places of mosquito, wearing full/long sleeves clothes, using chemicals to kill/ repel mosquitoes etc.
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur.
