Naw Dway Eh Khu
There have been 212 cases of dengue fever so far this year, but no deaths have been reported, said Dr. Htay Lwin, Director of the state Department of Public Health.
“In Kayah State, out of the current 212 cases, 173 have been diagnosed with the first stage of dengue, and only 37 have been slightly more severe and only two have a mildly severe stage. No patients have lost their life yet,” said Dr. Htay Lwin.
The dengue outbreak in townships in Kayah State was summoned with the media agencies on August 17 at the state Public Health Department.
Regarding to the outbreak of dengue fever within January to August 17, 118 cases of dengue fever were reported in Loikaw Township, 28 cases from Deemawso Township, 13 cases from Bawlakhae Township, 46 cases from Hpa-Saung Township, and none has been diagnosed with dengue fever in Mese and Shardaw Townships.
Dr. Htay Lwin said dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease and they conducted the initial prevention such as using pure pesticides in reservoirs once in May and once in August in order to prevent from insect habitat, and he suggested the area around water tank, water bucket, tires, and cups and so on should be covered and drained to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Mosquito repellent should be sprayed on homes within 100 yards, including the home of a person with dengue fever. But, the old people, patient with asthma, patient with respiratory disease, and infant cannot be inhaled it as it is a gas that is dangerous for them.
He also urged all the relevant departments, including the Department of Health, CSOs, and all the citizens to cooperating to reduce the number of dengue fever and dengue deaths.
“The main steps are ‘cover, throw away, replace, and drain’. If all the citizens, NGOs, CBOs, CSOs, teachers, health workers, other departments and volunteers are working together to systematically cover all water storage areas in and around their homes by applying the steps of ‘cover, throw away, replace, and drain’, our people will be free from the problem of dengue fever,” said Dr. Htay Lwin.
In order to reduce the incidence of dengue fever, the Kayah State Department of Public Health is working with the Red Cross and other related departments, and these dengue fever prevention service is operating in accordance with the policy of gathering due to COVID outbreak.
Dr. Aung Thu Htet, who works in the field of prevention, said, “How we mange is we take the initial assessment how many groups are there in the targeted ward. Then we coordinate with the ward administrator. For example, if there are eight, we plan to operate two days and divide the group into four. Then when there are four group, we check the ratio how many people will go in one time, and how many of our staff can join, how many maternal and child include, and how the red cross will support, something like that. Currently we are doing our project systematically and effectively.”
A person infected with mosquito-borne dengue fever is sick and loss appetite, and other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and dehydration, which can be fatal if not treated in time.In the nine years from 2012 to 2020, the highest incidence of dengue fever in 2017 was 1103 cases, and two were loss their lives.