Local Govt Fails to Control Dengue Spread

The local government and municipal corporations are to responsible for the present dengue epidemic afflicting the nation, according to leading entomologists in the nation, since they failed to stop the spread of the disease-carrying aedes mosquitoes.

At a news conference held by the Bangladesh Vector Management Group, experts said that the health ministry's data on the virus was disjointed and did not accurately depict the situation.

Dr. Manjur A. Chowdhury, an entomologist and former president of the Bangladesh Zoological Society, moderated the discussion and stated that the municipal corporations' efforts to control the dengue virus had been ineffective.

"A full-grown mosquito can transmit dengue for up to 3-4 weeks. There is no alternative to killing flying mosquitoes, but fogging won't even kill 20% of the mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes should be killed using the ULV formula," he said, adding that 95% of adult mosquitoes would have to be killed.

He said the level the mosquito population had reached was difficult to control.

Manjur also pointed out misleading information as spreading confusion among people. "There is no scientific basis for saying aedes mosquitoes breed in drains," he said.

About the BTI, he said what the Dhaka north had bought as BTI was poison and it was being used without following any rules.

GM Saifur Rahman, an entomologist, said, "Since 2016, dengue cases have been found more or less throughout the year. That means we have not taken any effective measures to control mosquitoes."

He suggested implementing a control programme for the whole of Bangladesh.

"We do not have any mosquito control methods tested here. In case of mosquito killing, we suffer from indecision. Do we do fogging or larvicide or vaccination?," he said.

To guarantee that people could defend themselves against mosquitoes, he advised arming the populace with pesticides.

Up until Friday morning, nine additional dengue deaths were confirmed, bringing the total number of dengue deaths in Bangladesh this year to 453.

According to the DGHS, 1,565 additional people with the viral fever were admitted to hospitals during that time.

According to the health directorate, 804 of the new cases were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the remaining were outside the city, showing a deteriorating situation nationwide. The DGHS has so far this year tallied 87,851 recoveries and 95,877 dengue cases. Dengue has already claimed the lives of four pregnant women this year.