Deyalsingh has dengue fever

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who embarked on a nationwide drive several months ago to encourage citizens to rid their surroundings of potential breeding sites in order to reduce the spread of mosquito-borne viruses, has contracted the dengue fever virus.

Diagnosed earlier this week, the minister is now one of 23 people nationally to have contracted the virus for the year thus far.

Although he returned to work last Monday, Deyalsingh yesterday said his workload had been greatly reduced as per doctors’ orders.

Saying he was still being monitored, the only visible sign that Deyalsingh was under the weather was reflected in his eyes, which appeared to be glassy and slightly red.

Speaking during yesterday’s weekly media briefing at the Ministry of Health, Port-of-Spain, Deyalsingh was candid as he gave an insight into the health scare which saw him end up at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for two days.

“I had dengue fever and my platelet count went dangerously low, so the doctors thought it best that I come in there and be monitored so that I don’t bleed out,” Deyalsingh said.

“Sadly, my platelet count is not up to where it should be as yet, so I am still being monitored very, very closely and I am trying to conserve energy as much as possible.”

He said he was told to cut back on official weekend engagements, but noted he had two important conferences he did not want to miss this weekend.

Dispelling media reports that he was a victim of the national drug shortage affecting hospital, he explained, “When treating this type of virus, intervention is not pharmaceutical but monitoring the platelet count with blood tests. If my platelet count had continued to drop dangerously low, then the solution would have been a transfusion intervention, so the reports are slightly exaggerated.”

Deyalsingh, however, declined to say what his platelet count currently was.

President of the T&T Medical Association, Dr Stacey Chamely, explained that a healthy individual’s platelet count should range from 150,000 to 400,000 but that doctors became worried when this drops to below 100 in dengue patients and “really, really worried when it drops below 60.”

Responding to this, Deyalsingh said in his case, “The doctors were very, very worried.”

Chamely recommended paracetamol, fluids and lots of rest in this case.

Dengue soaring in Sabaragamuwa Province

Health authorities say that there has been an increase in the number of cases of Dengue reported in the Sabaragamuwa Province.

Director of Health Services of the Sabaragamuwa Province Dr. Kapila Kannagara stated that 1500 cases of Dengue were reported from the Ratnapura District and 800 cases were reported from the Kegalle district.

Consultant Physician of the National Dengue Control Unit Dr. Prashila Samaraweera, said that 25,000 cases of Dengue have been reported from across the country during the past few months.

Dengue cases on rise, government hospitals on check

Kolkata: Alarmed by the increasing number of dengue cases in the city, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will start inspecting the government hospital campuses like RG Kar and NRS hospital from Saturday.

KMC's member of mayorin-council (health and vector control) Atin Ghosh on Friday said that a thorough inspection will start in the government hospitals from Saturday to assess the condition of the hospital campuses. "This year, atotal 59 dengue cases have been detected in KMC area from January 1till date," he said.

Though the situation is still better than last year, the corporation authorities do not want to take any risk and intensify its vigil to prevent mosquito borne diseases like dengue and malaria.

Keeping in mind the outbreak of dengue and malaria in Salt Lake and Rajarhat in last few years, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation has been working to control any outbreak of dengue with the help of the state health department. Last year two persons including a five year old boy died from dengue in Salt Lake. "The corporation workers have been spraying mosquito destroying oils in drains and gullypits. Door-to-door inspection is also going on across 41wards of the Bidhannagar," said an official.

Civic teams of the Bidhannagar corporation are pasting inspection slip on the walls of houses to keep track on the number of inspections made. Last year, 10 to 12 persons were diagnosed with dengue in hospitals in Salt Lake while the unofficial figures were much higher. This year, dengue cases in and around the city increased from June end onwards. There has been a steady rise of cases in the last few weeks.

Dengue cases climb to six, two more test positive

Gurgaon: Two new cases of dengue have been reported in the city, taking the total number to six in this season.

While a 70-year-old woman suffering from dengue was brought from Delhi to a private hospital in Gurgaon for treatment, the other case has been reported from Sector 52 near Golf Course Road, where a 30-year-old man was found to be suffering from the vector-borne disease.

However, according to doctors, both the patients are out of danger and are responding to treatment. While the woman patient has already been discharged from the hospital, the other patient is still undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital. Both the cases were confirmed after blood samples sent by the district health authorities to an accredited laboratory confirmed the presence of the dengue virus.

As one of the cases has been recorded in new Gurgaon, the district health authority has intensified its anti-dengue drive in the area. "We are working closely with the MCG and the district education department to prevent the outbreak of dengue this time. While the civic body will help us conduct conduct anti-dengue drives, the education department is spreading awareness among children," said Ramesh Dhankar, chief medical officer of Gurgaon. The city reported first four cases of dengue on June 22. However, only two were residents of Gurgaon. The other two came to Gurgaon from Bengaluru and Bihar.

Doctors said that cases of fever with thrombocytopenia (deficiency of platelets in the blood) have started coming up in a big way. "We have witnessed about 40 cases of fever with thrombocytopenia in the last two weeks. Fever with thrombocytopenia is a dengue-like illness. It shows that cases of dengue will come up in a big way soon. There is a need to take precautionary measures to avoid accumulation of waterin and around inhabited areas," said Dr Rajesh Kumar of Paras Hospital.

Sri Lanka's anti dengue drive swamped

COLOMBO - High temperatures and unseasonal rains have combined to effectively scuttle Sri Lanka's efforts to curb dengue, experts say.

The island is facing yet another outbreak this summer, with infections more than doubling in June to 3,421 cases, up from 1,477 cases during the same period in 2015.

The epidemiology unit of the Ministry of Health said that 23,000 infections had been reported countrywide up to the second week of July. In comparison only 29,000 cases were reported for the whole of 2015.

The outbreak follows heavy rains in May that left large parts of the island inundated for days. Just before the rains, the country witnessed an extended period of above-average temperatures, with the Meteorology Department confirming some areas were experiencing temperatures between 2 to 3 degrees Celsius higher than usual.

Changing weather patterns, as a result of climate change, are likely to make the battle to control dengue increasingly difficult in years to come, officials say.

“Changing rain patterns contribute to extend the period of dengue virus transmission due to more (mosquito) breeding. Temperature also plays a pivotal role by contributing to high level of (mosquito) activity,” said Faseeha Noordeen, a senior lecturer and virologist at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Peradeniya.

“These collectively contribute to extended periods of transmission and outbreaks,” she said.

The capital Colombo and the surrounding Western Province have been the hardest hit areas, with close to 50 percent of the infections reported from the province, which is also the country’s most densely populated area.

Of the 29,000 infections reported so far, 7,400 have been from Colombo.

During the May floods, large areas of Colombo were underwater for several days and, prior to the rains, the district also recorded high temperatures.

“It is obvious that changing rain patterns contribute to spread and expansion of dengue in the island,” Noordeen said.

CLEAN UP PUSH

As during past outbreaks, government authorities have heightened eradication and awareness programmes.

Members of the armed forces have been tasked with clean up operations and public officials in high-risk areas in Colombo have warned of strict action, including legal cases, against those who permit standing water on their property, which allows mosquitoes to breed.

“People are negligent, and allow breeding grounds to remain without cleaning them up. They need to be much more aware of the mosquitoes spreading soon after rains,” said Paba Palihawadana, the head of the Health Ministry’s epidemiology unit.

Over five days in late June, over 36,000 people in Colombo alone were warned to clean up their properties. Of 67,055 properties inspected in the city during that period, 16,565 were found to be high-risk areas for mosquito breeding.

“Colombo is the most vulnerable area,” said Hasitha Tissera, coordinator of the National Dengue Control Programme.

Noordeen said that it was difficult to control the spread of dengue since the eggs of dengue-carrying mosquitoes survive even in the smallest of water sources.

“The battle will be a tough one for a tropical island that is battling with changing weather patterns resulting in extended heavy rains and floods,” she said.

She said that instead of reacting to outbreaks, health authorities should study conditions that led to previous epidemics and devise a concerted plan that builds awareness and cleans up breeding areas throughout the year.

“Regular community clean-ups are a must in every village and township,” she said. And unless a comprehensive control plan “is put together and sustained, it’s going to be tough.”

Central team happy over State's anti-dengue plan

BHUBANESWAR: The Central team on Thursday  expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by the State Government to contain the spread of dengue. The rate of growth of the  deadly disease is decreasing in Barbil area of Keonjhar district which has so far recorded 1,003  positive cases. The team led by Additional Director of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme  (NVBDCP) Dr Gagan Singh Sonal reviewed the dengue situation at the office of Department of  Health Services (DHS) here after visiting Barbil, the epicentre of the disease, Joda, Jagatpur and different places in Cuttack.

Urging people not to panic, Sonal said dengue in Odisha, which has been witnessing spurt in positive cases for the  last four years, is under control now. "The situation is improving steadily in the affected areas. The measures initiated by State Government  are yielding results," he said. Asked whether the alarming situation could have been avoided  if the Government had initiated steps for cleanliness drives much before the onset of monsoon, the  Central team chief said dengue is now a national concern since it is reported from several States.

"Such cases are normally witnessed in industrial and urban  areas where water stagnation, communication and movement of people are more. Right step at the right time can check an outbreak," he said.

Since movement of vehicles is  more in mining belt of Barbil, abandoned tyres are found abundantly which are major sources of mosquito breeding, Sonal said and added that workers from various   States work here and they can carry the infection from their place of origin. He also advised officials of other departments to cooperate with  the Health department to contain the disease and prepare longterm preventive measures. The State has so far recorded three  deaths and 1,862 dengue positive cases, including 192 fresh cases.

Among others, Health Director Dr Chitta Ranjan Nayak, Director of Public Health Dr Kailas Das, Joint Director Dr Bikash Patnaik and NVBDCP Joint Director  Dr Madan Mohan Pradhan were present.        

Dengue, Malaria And Typhoid Cases On The Rise In Delhi

Delhi at present is witnessing the peak of the Monsoon season. Undoubtedly, we all enjoy Monsoon after sweltering heat of the summer. But with the change in the season, humid weather and waterborne diseases increase by leaps and bounds. 

Doctors in Delhi and NCR have reported a spurt in the numbers of waterborne diseases. There has been a rise in diseases like viral fever, malaria, typhoid, food poisoning, dehydration and jaundice. In the last one week, 11 fresh cases of dengue have been reported from the national capital region. 

With this the total number of dengue cases has climbed to 50 this Monsoon season. Malaria cases are also on the rise and, so far this season five cases of malaria have come into light. This data has been released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The month of June had witnessed 15 cases of dengue, while May recorded just six. However, we have not seen any Monsoon disease related deaths so far this season. Doctors believe that the number of dengue cases could rise even further and have also asked civic bodies to take adequate preventive measures to avoid mosquitogenic conditions near offices and homes. 

According to media reports, the civic bodies checked over 2 crore houses for mosquito breeding and found conditions favorable for breeding in about 42,000 households. People should take precautionary measures like change water in their air coolers regularly. The overhead water tanks should also be cleaned form time to time.