THE TRIPLING of dengue fever cases to in excess of 300 within a month spells disaster unless the State significantly escalates its response.
The numbers alone, alarming as they are, do not fully capture the danger. A series of factors now conspire to create the perfect storm.
Temperatures are hotter. The season of rainfall is upon us; there are more pools of water and more mosquitoes.
There is a high prevalence of chronic disease – ranging from diabetes to sickle-cell anemia. These increase the risk of dengue death.
And the cycle is vicious: having dengue, while granting immunity in some cases, is a risk factor for death once re-infected.
Not forgotten is covid19. Co-infection almost certainly worsens mortality, ICU admission and lengthy hospitalisation.
Already, dengue is leaving its mark.
Employers are experiencing staff issues. In the coming weeks, more sick workers will be unable to report for duty. More healthy individuals will have to stay home to care for loved ones. And more people will die. The death toll will not remain three.
We are a hair’s breadth from catastrophe.
The State’s response cannot be limited to spraying, which was once frequent but has since been questioned by scientists. There is need for a more full-throated approach. The Government should consider declaring dengue, in policy if not in law, a public health emergency.
Part of the reason is because Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh, on his own, does not enjoy the same degree of goodwill seen at the height of the covid19 pandemic. Even then, moral suasion took us only so far.
Mr Deyalsingh’s cause is not aided by prickly responses to questions. His strident warnings, too, that citizens face a $3,500 fine for unkempt premises, while underlining the gravity of the situation, are counterproductive. They reduce the likelihood of co-operation with health inspectors, who are already distrusted because of crime.
The declaration of a public health emergency need not involve shutting down society. It could involve a simple but powerful shift in language and a widening of the State’s public response.
The heightened sense of an “all of government” approach, as seen during recent disaster preparedness mobilisations, will be harder to ignore.
It will inspire attention to the dark, humid indoor spaces where mosquitoes thrive, far from the reach of inspectors and spraying. It will encourage people to put up screens, wear insect repellent and don long clothes. It will motivate blood donations.
Meanwhile, the disingenuous claims of funding starvation by regional corporations, which were collectively allocated $1.7 billion in the budget, assist nobody.
Draining stagnant pools and clearing clogged culverts are rudimentary local government functions. There is no excuse for entities failing to do this. Especially those that recently spent $82.2 million on new box drains.
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