10-day survey on Aedes density outside Dhaka

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has launched a survey in seven districts to measure the density of Aedes mosquito there.

The 10-day survey, which began on Wednesday, will also help the DGHS give suggestions to the authorities to take necessary steps to destroy the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquito.

“Eight teams of Communicable Disease Control unit will conduct the survey in Satkhira, Barishal, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Jashore and Khulna,” said Prof Sanya Tahmina, line director of CDC unit at the DGHS.

She said the teams would work for 10 days, but the time would be extended, if needed.

Sanya said although dengue cases were reported in all 64 districts this year, they picked only seven for the survey due to a lack of manpower.

The number of dengue patients outside Dhaka has seen a sharp rise this year. In many cases, the disease was transmitted locally which was a matter of serious concern, said officials.

Although Aedes aegypti has been primarily associated with dengue fever, experts think that another species of Aedes mosquito might have caused the spread of dengue outside Dhaka.

A survey by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has found the presence of Aedes albopictus outside Dhaka.

The IEDCR survey, which was launched last month, is being carried out in Barishal, Meherpur and Kushtia. According to a preliminary survey report, there were seven Aedes albopictus out of 755 adult mosquitoes in Barishal, 78 Aedes albopictus out of 116 adult mosquitoes in Meherpur and 14 Aedes albopictus out of 21 adult mosquitoes in Kushtia.

Aedes albopictus, also called Asian tiger mosquito, is a small, dark mosquito with a white dorsal stripe and banded legs. It can transmit the virus that causes dengue fever. It lays eggs on the inner sides of water-holding containers in urban, suburban, and rural areas as well as the edges of forested areas. Larvae can also be found in natural habitats such as tree holes and hollow bamboo stumps.

Meanwhile, 508 new dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across the country yesterday. Of them, 343 were admitted to hospitals outside Dhaka, according to DGHS data.

A total of 83,989 dengue patients were hospitalised this year until yesterday. Of them, 38,113 were admitted to medical facilities outside Dhaka.

Prof Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University, said dengue might have been transmitted locally as a lot of infected people went to rural areas from cities and towns during the Eid vacation last month.

He said it would be a matter of concern if Aedes albopictus had become a vector in rural areas as its management was different.

The local administration, under the leadership of DCs, would have to be proactive, and they would have to be provided with necessary training, he added.

Md Mahbub Hossain, additional secretary of the Local Government Division, recently told this correspondent that city corporations were revising their work approach as dengue fever became a problem in the country in recent years.

He said they sought master plans about mosquito control activities from every city corporation and they would take a final decision on those later.