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Health and
Fitness
Dengue Et Al
A Billion Terrorists Strike
by
Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
The world of international polity is caught this weekend in a frenzy of
debate over dissuading North Korea from a nuclear test, perhaps
discounting a much larger threat looming ominously from a billion
terrorists of the Dengue Et Al brigade. There are a thousand mutinies
rising as the death toll in India from this deadly viral disease has
crossed 50, of which over 15 include residents of the national capital,
Delhi. Nothing could be more ominous than the grand children of the
country’s Prime Minister, the erudite Mr. Manmohan Singh admitted under
suspicion of having contracted dengue to India’s primary public medical
care institute. The toll of death in India has been constantly hovering
between 30 to over 200 each year, while those affected run into
thousands. But India is not alone in facing this deadly disease which
strikes you when you are least aware, mostly by day and leaves you
literally drained after sucking your blood.
The entire swathe of countries in South and South East Asia have seen an
outbreak of dengue from Sri Lanka to Pakistan, Vietnam, China, Laos,
Cambodia and even affluent Singapore. The aedes mosquito, portent of bad
omen, the nano terrorist seem to strike with equity and equanimity, the
poor, rich, communists, capitalists, dictators and liberals alike. And
the threat is not restricted to just the Asian continent, the global
reach of these little demons will shame even Osama’s Al Qaeda. Dengue
has a dominating presence in over 100 countries, spanning Africa,
Americas and the Middle East. The total population affected each year is
over 2.5 billion. Surprisingly for such a wide spread disease, there is
no vaccine or any anti viral drug, so much for developments in modern
medicine.
Dengue is a curse of urbanization with shanty sprawls dotting the
developing landscape of many towns and cities around the World
explaining its uniform spread. Countries as India which have large
cities with oversized populations and poor public health and sanitation
are particularly vulnerable as density of people implies that the aedes
can target its sting far more easily and widely. Lack of public
consciousness, a run down municipal administration system and antiquated
health preventive mechanisms relying on episodic management to prevent
spread of the disease at the peak incubation period each year means that
the dengue mosquito has the freedom to bite at will.
Surprisingly two countries, Vietnam and Cuba which have a socialist
administration are doing very well in combating the menace of dengue.
Perhaps public consciousness and greater commitment to maintenance of
community facilities and public health care has been built in these
societies over the years which leads to successful implementation of
preventive health programs. Taking the help of bio organisms has also
been useful. Released in water bodies these feed on mosquito larvae to
control the spread. Since the peak period of prevalence of the disease
are well known spreading in South Asia in the months of September and
October each year, undertaking prevention may not be difficult
particularly when there is no cure.
Regretfully, Dengue is not the only menace which is proliferating in
South Asia at present; there are others which seem to be as deadly but
with limited awareness of their spread. Chikungunya fever is one, which
has already killed a number of people in India’s southern state of
Kerala, seen as a tourist paradise. This is the first time that the
disease has hit the country which is prevalent in many island
territories in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Then there is Japanese
Encephalitis which had reported over 1600 deaths in 2005 mostly in
India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. The deadly Kala-Azar a relic
to the days of 19th Century British Raj is also known to be active in
many parts of South Asia.
The threat from these diseases is so acute that the International
Cricket Council has sought assurance from the Indian cricket board on
safety of the players during the forthcoming Champions Trophy in the
country. While this may be a gross exaggeration as the players operating
from cleaner and greener environments are unlikely to catch the virus,
it underlines the need for controlling the spread of such diseases in a
country which increasingly sees itself as a leading global power. Let it
not be that a billion mosquitoes bring down the India growth story by
many notches in the years ahead.
October 8, 2006
Image under license with Gettyimages.com
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Health and
Fitness
The Week of October 8, 2006
Goodbye America? N-deal Setback may be Tip of
Iceberg! by Rajinder Puri
India's Leadership Crisis : Impact on Defense and
Politics by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Presidential System of Government for India
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Always Yes to Planned Murder by Terrorists by
V. Sundaram
Parliament Attack: The Clemency Chaos by
Nagesh Padmanaban
Indo-Pak relations: It’s time to end the relations
by Dr. Deepak Pawar
Dengue Et Al: A Billion Terrorists Strike
by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
SPAC: Special Purpose Acquisition Company by
Deepak Dahiya
Railway Safety is No Accident! by Arya Bhushan
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India -
III by Ashish Nangia
Distressed Habitation by VK Joshi
Dal: A Lake or a Polluted Pond? by Naira
Yaqoob
A Matter of Faith by Naira Yaqoob
In Search of God by Pradeep Joshi
Mahisasura-Mardini: The Sacred Narrative of Durga
Ma by Aparna Chatterjee
Is Hero Worship still there? by TA Ramesh
Pandit Shyamaji Krishna Verma: Salutations to a
Great Revolutionary by V. Sundaram
Secret India at war celebrates its re-invented
past by Marc-Olivier Parlatano
Creation of a second capital of Karnataka in Belgaum
by Niranjan Babu Bangalore
The Future History of Taiwan by William R.
Stimson
Sex Workers Take Charge by Usha Revelli
New Day Dawns for Child Servants by Mini Sharma
From Tashkent to the World by Albina Belevich
A Circle of Peace by Stephanie Hiller
Text Books for Change by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Happy Dusshera! by Glory Sasikala Franklin
Where Myths & Superstitions Heal by Anil Gulati
Of Birds, Bees, Beasts and Other Animals by
Julia Dutta
When I was Pin-ned down! by Prakash Pathre
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
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