The campaign would be launched in all vulnerable districts of Tarai region and in the capital, officials at the EDCD said."We have been working to launch search and destroy campaign to prevent the possible epidemic," Dr Baburam Marasaini, director at the EDCD, said. He informed that the office will mobilize health workers, female community health volunteers (FCHVs) and social mobilizers to carryout the campaign.
According to director Marasini, the EDCD has been providing training to health workers on precautionary measures for preventing possible dengue epidemic. Aedes larvae have been found in high density in the Kathmandu valley in the post quake risk assessment survey carried out by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).
The study, which was jointly carried out by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), under the of the Department of Health services (DoHS), Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) of the MoHP, Nepalese Army Medical Corps (NAMC) and a number of volunteers from various health institutes have warned of possible outbreak of dengue and chikungunya in the post monsoon seasons.
Last year, 20 cases of dengue infection were reported in the capital.
Health workers warned of possible epidemic in the capital, as it is densely populated. They said that humidity and rising temperatures make for a favorable environment for the dengue vector to spread in the capital.
The vector lives in clean water and bites during daytime. It also resides in water collected in plastic vessels, used tires, broken bottles, flower pots and other objects.
Dengue fever is mild like ordinary fever, but a secondary infection is extremely dangerous as this can lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). DHF starts with severe headache, muscle and joint pain, fever and rashes.
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