Mosquito Control Measures Form The Basis Of Dengue Control

Why were there no early warning signs? What makes dengue and chikungunya ‘neglected tropical diseases’?

- Hardnews Bureau Delhi

We do not have early warning signs of these diseases as India does not have an effective and sensitive surveillance programme. Of the two, only dengue has been included as a neglected tropical disease. The term ‘neglected tropical diseases’ (NTDs) was coined to galvanise support and funding around these illnesses. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has grouped 17 diseases under NTDs. These diseases are a diverse set of bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens that collectively cause significant illness and debilitation, primarily in impoverished communities of low and middle-income countries. Traditionally, these diseases have been overlooked or under-resourced compared to other higher mortality diseases and, as a result, afflicted patients have been under-diagnosed and under-treated. The NTDs are the most common infections of the world’s poorest people living in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Occurring predominantly among people who live below the poverty line, the NTDs actually promote poverty because of their impact on child development, pregnancy outcome, and worker productivity. Although dengue is most closely associated with poor populations and crowded urban and peri-urban areas, it also affects affluent neighbourhoods of tropical and subtropical countries, and there is evidence of increasing rural transmission.

What has contributed to this ‘outbreak’ and why weren’t adequate preventive measures taken?