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Cong, BJP blame game over dengue ``medically unsound``
New Delhi, Nov 16: In the poll blame game between Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and BJP`s chief ministerial candidate M L Khurana over dengue deaths, efficiency or lack of it in handling the epidemic could not be pinned on either government, according to Dr K K Aggarwal of the Moolchand Hospital.
New Delhi, Nov 16: In the poll blame game between Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and BJP's chief ministerial candidate M L Khurana over dengue deaths, efficiency or lack of it in handling the epidemic could not be pinned on either government, according to Dr K K Aggarwal of the Moolchand Hospital.
The fact that dengue killed more people in 1996 and less people in the capital this time was not a proof of the inefficiency or efficiency of any government, Dr Aggarwal said here. The reason simply was that dengue in the previous epidemic in 1996, was caused by a virus which was deadlier than the one which struck this time, he said.
It is this difference and not the handling of the situation by either government in their respective terms that determined the number of victims this year and seven years ago, said Dr Aggarwal. Dengue had struck the capital in a big way in 1996 claiming 423 lives and affecting over 10,000 people that year. This time, there were only 33 dengue deaths and 2738 cases have been reported so far.
The figures are not likely to increase as with the onset of winter, mosquito breeding decreases and the disease subsides.
He said that there were four types of dengue fever--dengue one, two, three and four. A person can get dengue four times but one type only once. In 1996, there was an outbreak of dengue two and four, which are more dangerous than other types, while this time the capital was hit by dengue three, caused by a less virulent strain, he explained.
If last time more people died it was not because the government was taken unawares, and conversely if less people died this year it was not because of the government preparedness, he affirmed.
He said there is very little that the official machinery can do to check dengue. Every house in the capital cannot be monitored for mosquito breeding.
Echoing similar sentiments, MCD health officer K N Tiwari said the virus that caused dengue last time was more deadly than the one that hit this year. Though not denying the government role in dengue prevention, he said that public awareness alone can prevent the epidemic. Civic bodies cannot visit every corner of the capital and compel every person to take anti-mosquito breeding measures, he added.
He said that in 1996 mosquito density was much greater and cases were being reported till late January.
Dr Rita Sood of the Department of Medicine of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences agreed that in 1996 dengue claimed more lives because it was caused by a deadlier virus but added that the reason that the toll was less this year was greater awareness about the disease. People consulted the physician as soon as symptoms appeared, she said.
She said that governments certainly have a role in ensuring sanitary conditions and ensuring medical facilities to the people.
Dr Sood said that dengue virus was first detected in Philippines in 1953 and it reappeared in Thailand in 1958.
Bureau Report
It is this difference and not the handling of the situation by either government in their respective terms that determined the number of victims this year and seven years ago, said Dr Aggarwal. Dengue had struck the capital in a big way in 1996 claiming 423 lives and affecting over 10,000 people that year. This time, there were only 33 dengue deaths and 2738 cases have been reported so far.
The figures are not likely to increase as with the onset of winter, mosquito breeding decreases and the disease subsides.
He said that there were four types of dengue fever--dengue one, two, three and four. A person can get dengue four times but one type only once. In 1996, there was an outbreak of dengue two and four, which are more dangerous than other types, while this time the capital was hit by dengue three, caused by a less virulent strain, he explained.
If last time more people died it was not because the government was taken unawares, and conversely if less people died this year it was not because of the government preparedness, he affirmed.
He said there is very little that the official machinery can do to check dengue. Every house in the capital cannot be monitored for mosquito breeding.
Echoing similar sentiments, MCD health officer K N Tiwari said the virus that caused dengue last time was more deadly than the one that hit this year. Though not denying the government role in dengue prevention, he said that public awareness alone can prevent the epidemic. Civic bodies cannot visit every corner of the capital and compel every person to take anti-mosquito breeding measures, he added.
He said that in 1996 mosquito density was much greater and cases were being reported till late January.
Dr Rita Sood of the Department of Medicine of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences agreed that in 1996 dengue claimed more lives because it was caused by a deadlier virus but added that the reason that the toll was less this year was greater awareness about the disease. People consulted the physician as soon as symptoms appeared, she said.
She said that governments certainly have a role in ensuring sanitary conditions and ensuring medical facilities to the people.
Dr Sood said that dengue virus was first detected in Philippines in 1953 and it reappeared in Thailand in 1958.
Bureau Report