News:Delhi government has said that the government’s campaign to get people to invest 10 minutes every week to stop dengue mosquitoes from breeding has led to just 356 cases of Dengue compared to 650 in 2018.
Facts:
About Dengue:
- According to the World Health Organisation, Dengue is a vector-borne disease transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
- The mosquito becomes infected when it feeds on the blood of a person infected with the virus.After about one week,the mosquito can then transmit the virus while biting a healthy person.
- The dengue virus (DEN) comprises four distinct serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4) which belongs to the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae.
- The most cases of dengue occur in tropical areas of the world including the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Southern China, Taiwan among others.
- Dengue is a notifiable disease but a case is required to be notified only when the confirmatory test has been done in the lab.
- However,there is no vaccine or specific medication for dengue fever. Patients should seek medical advice, rest and drink plenty of fluids.
Additional information:
Notifiable disease:
- A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities.
- This will allow authorities to gather information to monitor the disease, and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.
- The process will also help the government to keep track and formulate a plan for elimination and control.In less infectious conditions,it improves information about the burden and distribution of disease.
- The Centre has notified several diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, encephalitis, leprosy, meningitis, pertussis (whooping cough), plague, tuberculosis, AIDS, hepatitis, measles among others.
