Crisis of vector-borne diseases in Telangana due to poor sanitation: Report

HYDERABAD: As the state continues to reel under the outbreak of dengue, the latest seasonal disease report of the state health department said that most of the 13,562 cases of vector-borne diseases reported during June 1 to September 10 in the state could have been prevented had the civic authorities maintained better sanitation.
During the period, 1,993 cases of malaria, 10,876 cases of dengue and 693 cases of chikungunya were recorded in the state.

All three-vector borne diseases stem from water stagnation. Dengue mosquitoes breed in clean water as opposed to malaria mosquitoes.
“Even water that has remained stagnant for 24 hours can give rise to dengue. There is plenty of water stagnation on the roads but the GHMC has turned a blind eye. We do not know the reason behind the GHMC being understaffed or why it is still ill equipped to fix the issue, but infections are spreading rapidly due to waterlogging,” said Dr Sanjeev Singh Yadav, secretary, Indian Medical Association, Telangana. The IMA secretary further said that at least 70% of the infections could have been resolved with just better sanitation. “Sanitation measures including intensive fogging, clearing of stagnant water and removing garbage have to be taken up on a war-footing.”
Over 33,000 cases of influenza and fever have been reported from across the state in six days alone, and 3.7 lakh cases were reported between June 1 and September 10, as per the report. Though the high number of dengue cases are unprecedented, experts said they are just 3 to 4% of the total number of cases.
Among common viral infections currently seen are influenza, adenovirus, hepatitis virus, while dengue, chikungunya and malaria cases are seeing a sharp rise. “The number of influenza and fever cases reported has gone up by 50 to 60% at primary and tertiary health centres,” said health authorities. “In the last 10 days alone, I have seen over 250 patients complaining of influenza and fever and daily 20 to 22 patients test positive for either dengue, chikungunya or malaria,” said Dr P Sai Kumar, general physician, Jeevan Hospital.