By SHRI RAM SHAW
NEW DELHI : Are we fully geared to distinguish if a person has dengue or Covid-19? Are we ready for heavy loads in the hospital wards due to dengue outbreak? What will happen when we have two menaces to handle together – both of them have overlapping symptoms?
Already battling the global pandemic – dreaded disease Covid-19 and worst desert locust invasion in three decades, the two estranged neighbours – Pakistan and India are now bracing themselves to face another major challenge as the dengue season sets in across large parts of both the countries with the onset of the monsoon.
Scientists warn that Covid-19 and the mosquito-borne disease have overlapping symptoms and worry the country’s healthcare infrastructure won’t be able to cope with this double whammy. The impact of a ‘dengue-Covid-19’ season would entail two different diagnostic tests and extract a huge toll on patients too, each disease making the other more complicated to deal with and perhaps more fatal.
With the number of Corona cases spiraling, the incidence of dengue is also high. Once the dengue season starts, the infection spreads aggressively due to high prevalence of its mosquito vector, aedes aegypti. The virus is endemic and present around the year in southern India and in monsoon and early winter in northern India.
Experts feel, both Corona and dengue have symptoms such as high fever, headache and body pain. The dengue season may aggravate the Covid -19 situation as both viruses may supplement each other. The effect will be very critical. As major symptoms are overlapping, simultaneous infection will be much more fatal. Weakened immune systems will help the other to be more fatal.
Risk of dengue transmission is present throughout Pakistan at elevations below 2,300 m (7,500 ft), including the city of Islamabad. Transmission typically occurs between July and November. Since 2010, Pakistan has been dealing with a sudden rise in dengue cases every year in summer, mainly Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2011, nearly 350 people died due to dengue in summer with more than 21, 600 reported cases. In 2017, there was a dengue outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 18, 856 cases and multiple deaths.
The worst dengue outbreak in Pakistan was in 2019 with 54,000 cases and 90 deaths. According to a WHO report, from 8 July to 12 November, 2019 a total of 47,120 confirmed cases of dengue fever, including 75 deaths, were reported from the four provinces (KP, Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh), Islamabad, and AJK. Pakistan has reported a total of 197 cases of dengue for 2020 (as of 6 June, 2020).
According to the Indian National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), 1,36,422 dengue cases were diagnosed in 2019 and an estimated 132 people died. Based on 2016-2019 data, India gets about 100,000 to 200,000 confirmed cases of dengue each year. India has reported 77 cases and one death in 2020 (as of 8 March, 2020).
Meanwhile, both the countries have taken several initiatives and implemented measures to the epidemic, still they are battling choppy waters amid Covid outbreak. They still have some time to defeat the Coronavirus but in the case of epidemics, time passes by very quickly and even a moment’s delay can spin the situation out of control.
The number of novel coronavirus cases is increasing at a fast pace even as the governments have issued directives, sealed borders urging people to take precautions in the wake of the spread of the deadly virus. Doctors and medical staff have also been working hard to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases. But the spiraling numbers are sparking concerns, even a silly mistake at this juncture could prove very costly, as they attempt to control the rapid spread of the disease.
Pakistan has a population of about 22 crores, and so far 248,872 total confirmed cases have been reported as on Sunday. 156,700 persons have been recovered and there are still 86,975active cases. The coronavirus death toll in Pakistan has reached 5,197.
With a population of 135 crore, India’s Covid-19 tally neared the 8.5-lakh mark on Sunday (July 12), just five days after crossing 7 lakh. The country registered a new record 28,637 positive cases and 551 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total positive cases stand at 8,49,553 including 29,22,58 active cases, 5,34,621 cured/discharged/migrated. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus began in India, 22,674 people succumbed to the virus as on Sunday.
