Number of Chikungunya cases falling

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DHAKA, July 26, 2017 (BSS) – The number of mosquito-borne Chikungunya affected patients have been falling in the country due to appropriate measures jointly taken by the health ministry and city corporations.

“It takes a little time to diagnosis the disease and its symptoms owing to past experiences but the disease has started reducing after taking effective measures by Directorate General of Health Services and two City Corporations,” Advisor of Public Health Emergency Operation Center Dr Moshtak Hossain told BSS.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim said, “This time it took a little time to identify the disease as it was rare in our country but we have to be cautions from now so that it could not recur in the coming years.”

“Chikungunya can be prevented, if people keep their houses clean and destroy all potential mosquito breeding sources,” he told BSS.

Nasim said, “Chikungunya is a viral disease which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. So, we have to take preventative measures to destroy larva or pupae of aedes mosquitoes.”

“Chikungunya fever has increased in Dhaka for the last three months…But the number of patients infected with this virus has decreased in the current month,” said the Advisor of the center formed by the government’s disease monitoring wing, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

“Normally, the rainfall continues till September, so the possibility of the disease would remain till then,” he said urging to keep their houses clean and destroy all potential mosquito breeding sources.”

“Chikungunya is caused by a virus that is carried out by mosquitoes. The same Aedes aegypti, which is responsible for spreading dengue fever, carries the chikungunya virus. But there is no risk of death in this disease,” said the expert.

Under the directive of Health Ministry, IEDCR opened help desks to effectively tackle the chikungunya disease at all medical colleges and public hospitals.

A control room on public health emergency operation centre [chikungunya disease control room] was also opened on July 3 at the (IEDCR).

A round-the-clock hotline for answering people and doctors on chikungunya has also been set up. The hotline numbers are 01937110011 and 01937000011.

A total of 1,799 people have taken the service through the hotline numbers between April 9 and July 24.

According to a government estimate the number of Chikungunya affected persons in the country was approximately 2,100 till now. But the number could be increased with the estimate of other private hospitals, said Dr Hossain.

“A large number (1242) of Chikungunya virus infected people received treatment at our outdoor department in June while 805 cases were reported till July 22,” Dhaka Medical College Hospital Director Brigadier General Mohammad Mizanur Rahman told BSS.

Professor Uttam Kumar Barua, Director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital said, ‘The number of Chikungunya affected patients has decreased in our hospital…We have provided treatment to 907 till July 23 where 1187 patients were treated in the month of June.”