It will be a double whammy if dengue reaches epidemc proportions – Dr. Jasinghe

By Ifham Nizam

The health sector would be overwhelmed if dengue also reaches epidemic proportions, warns former Health Ministry Secretary Dr Anil Jasinghe.

The Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit statistics indicated that 7,674 suspected dengue cases had been reported countrywide from January 2021 to date, Dr. Jasinghe said.  

Nearly 28.5 percent of dengue cases were reported from the Western province.

Dr. Jasinghe, now the Environment Ministry Secretary, said environmental factors played a major role in the spread of certain diseases.

“When I was working in the Ministry of Health I did a lot of work to control the spread of dengue. The use of plastic receptacles is a major factor in the spread of dengue. We discussed at the Ministry of Health how to minimise the use of these. Now, I have the opportunity to take some steps to minimise the use of such plastic containers, as the secretary of the Ministry of Environment.”

Dr. Aruna Jayasekara, National Dengue Control Unit Director of the Ministry of Health said that people should take action to keep their surroundings clean as the risk of dengue usually increased during June and July.

“Dengue has been on the rise from May to July due to the rainy weather. Since it is also spreading in the midst of the pandemic and shows common symptoms, people must seek medical advice if they develop symptoms such as fever.”

The Epidemiology Unit says it is very important to seek medical attention in the event of fever and to do relevant laboratory investigations.

Dengue could spread in the next two months. Everything should not be left to the government. The people too had a responsibility to control dengue, he said.

“Unstinted public cooperation was needed to control dengue.