Why Karnataka is witnessing dengue fever surge?
Dr Kadiyali Srivatsa
Connecting Doctors, and Patients to Reduce the culture of dependency on healthcare profession and Combat Infections and Restore Human-Centered Care
Karnataka is witnessing a spurt in dengue infections this year, with 4,405 cases registered in just eight months. Last year the state logged 1,266 cases of dengue, according to the data shared by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The data in July alone indicates that there has been a jump of more than 200 per cent in infections compared to that in the corresponding period last year (1,581 cases in July this year as against 484 cases recorded in July 2021).
Health experts have attributed the situation to the weather and mosquito breeding. For more than a century, we blamed mosquitos, and spent billions trying to eradicate mosquitos but failed. We step out of the box and think, and not preoccupied with whether or not we could, but stop to think when we should.
The CDC helped COVID spread faster, killing millions because they did not read or respect my hypothesis of identifying and isolating infected patients based on the symptoms and signs. By giving more importance to testing, to collect data, they helped the virus spread, resulting in a pandemic.
In Bangalore, out of 36,033 blood samples tested for dengue, 4,405 have been said to be positive. The cases are rising since it is monsoon because healthy un-infected mosquitoes bite a symptomatic patient with dengue fever, malaria, or chikungunya, infecting healthy adults and children. Most infected female mosquitos die, and the viruses are not transferred from mosquito mosquitos or to their offspring. We must not continue to think of breeding mosquitos in stagnant water because it is impossible to clear stagnant water daily. If we continue spraying to prevent larvae production, mosquitos will develop resistance.
The data shared by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with The Indian Express showed that there had been 1,154 cases of dengue this year in Bengaluru till August. The cases in the years 2021, 2020 and 2019 were 1,643, 2,047 and 9,029, respectively.
Recommended by LinkedIn
The hospital has been witnessing a dramatic rise in dengue cases since June when 38 dengue cases have been admitted. All the patients were in the age group of 20-40 years. The primary criteria for hospitalisation include blood pressure <90/60 mmHg, hematocrit >50 per cent, platelet count <50,000/mm3, and evidence of bleeding other than petechiae. A daily average of 8-10 out-patient (OP) cases are reported, most of whom are youngsters.
Hospitals are said to see 3 to 4 dengue patients daily, 20-30% increase in dengue cases. The age of the patients was reported to be 25-50 years. Hospitals see 3 to 4 dengue patients daily.
Fogging and cleaning hospitals using chemicals will not reduce the dengue cases but will help the colonisation of resistant bacteria and now the fungus. Mosquitos are also now becoming resistant to pesticides. This will be the "Ticking Timebomb" that will soon explode. As Steve Job said, "I am crazy to believe I can change the world, and I know I will", because I have observed how infections spread in hospitals, and clinics in the NHS hospitals in the UK, and published articles for more than 40 years, warning authorities about the 21st Century Crisis. Lockdowns, quarantine and wearing a face mask or social dispensing will never help us fight this war with germs, but a simple strategy developed by integrating innovation to initially identify infected individuals and isolate them will.
Companies, Prisons, Concerts, Temples, Churches, Mosques and schools must inform parents not to send their kids to school when they show fever symptoms. The parents must make the infected child stay in bed covered with mosquito nets. This will not only help siblings, parents, and friends in school not get infected.