Triple whammy strikes city: Dengue, H1N1, chikungunya

DurgeshNandan Jha

New Delhi:





Docs: Unusual For 3 To Strike At Same TimeAccurate Reporting Of Diseases Helps A Lot

It's dengue season, but the city is in the grip of swine flu and chikungunya as well. Where 2016 saw fewer than 200 cases of swine flu, the count is already nearing 2,000 this year. The viral disease has killed at least five people while a 12-year-old died of dengue in south Delhi's Humayunpur last week.Those are only the official figures -five top hospitals told TOI they have recorded more than 40 swine flu deaths this year. Dengue is also spreading faster than in 2016, with roughly 30% more infections in July this year.
While chikungunya wracked the city during AugustDecember last year, cases this year have been reported all through, with a clear uptick July onwards.
It's unusual for three viral diseases to strike at the same time. “In 20 years of clinical experience, I have not seen this kind of spread of viral illnesses in Delhi. Dengue and swine flu are spreading with similar intensity . People have also tested positive for chikungunya,“ said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo hospital. Some patients have also been diagnosed with multiple infections, for example, dengue and typhoid.
“Four members of my family have been down with fever for a week. One of them has tested positive for dengue,“ said Kalpana Sharma, a resident of Greater Kailash-1, who is recovering from viral fever. “The fever takes a week or more to subside these days and the after-effects, like bodyache and fatigue, last even longer.“ The bad news is that the worst is yet to come as these viral diseases spread faster in September and October. “High levels of humidity in August, September and October aid virus growth and transmission,“ said Dr A C Dhariwal, director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Dengue and chikungunya are transmitted through the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito; swine flu spreads from person to person when a patient coughs or sneezes.
Doctors at AIIMS, Safdarjung, Lok Nayak, Apollo, Sir Ganga Ram, Max Saket and BLK hospitals said they have been managing the patient load by utilising beds in non-active departments or creating special wards. But a spike in infections could soon lead to a shortage of beds. In 2015, the Delhi government ordered hospitals to postpone elective surgeries to accommodate dengue patients. Last year, special wards were opened in big hospi tals to deal with the rush of dengue and chikungunya patients. Public health specialists said the looming crisis shows how governments have failed to prepare for viral illnesses spread by mosquitoes and diseases like swine flu.
“The least they can do is raise awareness about preventing the spread of diseases.Dengue and chikungunya, for example, can be reduced significantly if collection of water in household utensils and overhead tanks is stopped. For swine flu, simple measures like maintaining hygiene and staying away from infected people can save so many lives,“ said Dr Rommel Tickko, senior consultant, internal medicine at Max Saket.
The sharp increase in swine flu cases and deaths this year might be because the virus is of a different strain, said Dhariwal. NCDC and AIIMS in Delhi, and Pune's National Institute of Virology have found the `Michigan strain' of swine flu in circulation this year, as against the California strain in previous years.
Dhariwal said accurate reporting of notifiable diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and swine flu is necessary to alert the local population to the precautions needed, and for the state authorities to prepare their action plans to tackle the rush of patients in hospitals.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK

SC ASKS CM, L-G TO HOLD MEET ON DENGUE, CHIKUNGUNYA

The Supreme Court on Tuesday brought together the Delhi Government, Centre and civic agencies on the talking table to discuss and devise a common strategy to counter the threat of dengue and chikungunya facing the national Capital.

The Court was pained to note that agencies working in the Capital were not working to fight the menace in the city with a spirit of “cooperation” and felt that the need of the hour was to ensure that all agencies shed their differences and work for the common interest of citizens of Delhi.

The Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and LN Rao said, “In our opinion, for the general interest of the people of Delhi and considering the fact that a large number of people are affected by dengue and chikungunya, it would be appropriate if a meeting is convened by the Lieutenant-Governor on October 5 at 2 pm.”

The said meeting will be attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendra Jain, Delhi Chief Secretary, Union Health Secretary, Commissioners of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council, heads of Cantonment Board, DDA, Metro Rail, Northern Railways along with amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves, who is assisting the Court in the matter.

The Bench told the Delhi Government not to indulge in any blame game in the meeting and urged both Centre and AAP Government to discuss on what is to be done in future than dwell in the past. Further, the Bench added, “The participants should resolve issues relating to the better management of the problems faced by the people of Delhi due to dengue and chikungunya - and other issues, if so advised. The interests of the people of Delhi are paramount.”

The Court listed the case for hearing on Thursday expecting both sides to table a common agreement.

With the toll of dengue and chikungunya cases crossing 2,500 mark in the Capital over two months, the Delhi Government had informed Court that officers were taking orders from L-G office and defying Ministers of the hAAP Government. The Court had imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Delhi Health Minister for failing to name the erring officials. On Tuesday, the fresh affidavit filed by Delhi also did not name any officer.

Although Health Minister Satyendra Jain made certain personal remarks against the Health Secretary, the Bench ignored the same. Senior advocate CU Singh who represented the AAP Government urged the Court to waive the cost but the Bench bluntly refused.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar who represented the L-G also claimed to represent the Delhi Government indicating that all was not well within the Delhi administration. When the AAP Government chose to flag this issue as the root cause of difficulty, the Bench brushed it aside saying, “You (Delhi) are sitting with a closed mind. There is no difficulty, you are creating the difficulty. Why can't your CM and Ministers sit with L-G. There is no point in blaming anybody and looking to the past is not going to help. Look up to the interest of people of Delhi.”

with thanks : The Pioneer : LINK

Foggy impact of fumigation on dengue, chikungunya

The govt and the civic bodies have taken up fogging on a war footing, but experts are divided on its effectiveness in checking the mosquito problem

As the number of deaths from dengue and chikungunya spiked in September, the Delhi government and the municipal corporations responded in the way they do every year when cases of vector-borne diseases shoot up in the monsoon: they ramped up fogging, or fumigation, across the city.

Plumes of diesel and malathion, an insecticide that has low toxicity for humans but can be more dangerous if ingested, soon rose up from the roads and alleys.

On September 14, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Kapil Mishra and BJP MP for north-east Delhi Manoj Tiwari were photographed on bicycles fitted with fumigation devices, spraying insecticide into the air in Sonia Vihar.

Full effort

The government and civic bodies pledged more resources to their respective efforts. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said 600 more machines would be deployed. The cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation recently procured 30 new hand-held devices, adding to the 182 it already possessed.

In total, the EDMC, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation have 1,100 hand-held fumigation devices. The three corporations also have 25 vehicle-mounted fogging machines.

‘Minimal impact...’

There’s only one problem.

Experts, municipal officials and councillors are divided on whether fogging is really helping Delhi deal with the mosquito menace.

Councillors and municipal officials have repeatedly said in meetings of Standing Committees that fumigation has minimal impact on controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases as it only targets adult mosquitoes, not the larvae.

‘...but people are satisfied’

But, it works well in one way.

“People are satisfied. I can’t comment on the scientific impact, but the fumigation drive is working,” said Subhash Arya, the Leader of the House in the SDMC.

The SDMC has borne the brunt of the mosquito menace, with 353 of the total 1,692 dengue cases as of September 24 coming from South Delhi — the highest of the three corporations.

Mr. Arya added that while adult mosquitoes are killed through fumigation, the practice can’t lead to total eradication of the disease-carrying insects. However, he said the fogging efforts had been intensified.

Not all residents are satisfied though.

B.S. Vohra, the president of the east Delhi RWAs Joint Front, said that while regular fogging is being carried out, the results are short-lived.

“There is respite from mosquitoes for a few hours or a day at most after fogging, but then the mosquitoes are back. In almost every other household there is a patient of chikungunya or dengue,” said Mr. Vohra.

Apart from questions about its effectiveness, there are concerns about the environmental and health impact. As per the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme’s Operational Guidelines for Urban Vector-Borne Disease Control 2016, one part of malathion is to be mixed with 19 parts of diesel.

Last year, when Delhi saw a record-breaking number of dengue cases at over 15,000, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had said that the fogging drive was ineffective in controlling the disease.

Adding to that, the director-general of the CSE, Sunita Narain, told The Hindu on Saturday that fogging was the “last resort” all over the world.

“It is being seen as ineffective. Over time, it builds resistance and even impacts water sources. What is being done for site management where breeding occurs? Every pothole, every garbage dump is a potential site for breeding,” said Ms. Narain.

Fogging has little impact on controlling the spread of diseases as it only targets adult mosquitoes.

with thanks : The Hindu

DENGU - CHIKUNGUNYA : क्या आपके इलाक़े मे फॉगिंग हुई है ?

दोस्तो, डेंगू और चिकुनगुनया का दौर चल रहा है. हम आपसे सिर्फ़ इतना जानना चाहते हैं कि क्या आपके इलाक़े मे फॉगिंग हुई है ? अगर आपके इलाक़े मे फॉगिंग नही हुई है तो कृपया इलाक़े का नाम, गली नंबर, मोबाइल नंबर लिखें ताकि आपकी डीटेल, कन्सर्न्ड अथॉरिटीस को फॉर्वर्ड की जा सके. अगर फॉगिंग के अलावा भी डेंगू व चिकुनगुनया से रिलेटेड कोई प्राब्लम चल रही है तो भी हमे लिखें. हमारा E MAIL ID नीचे दिया हुआ है.

धन्यवाद. 

बी एस वोहरा 

www.RWABhagidari.com

www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.in

rwabhagidari@yahoo.in