Dengue is an attitudinal crisis

• Public behavioural and attitudinal issues not only overshadow these systemic failures, but aggravate them

The spike of dengue cases in the country has risen to an alarming level with the number of cases exceeding 46,000 and deaths nearing 30 for the past six months, according to reports. Authorities cite that the number of cases rose by 500 to 600 daily until last Saturday. 

However, a record 1069 cases were reported on Sunday, saending a bleak signal on the danger that lurks ahead. And the number of cases that fluctuated between 7800 and 8500 in the first five months of the year has jumped above 12,000 in the first 20 days of June. 

The highest number of cases has been reported in the Western Province, followed by the Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. Dengue infections have occurred in all 25 districts nationwide, with the most significant numbers found in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Galle, Matara, and Ratnapura. 

Although the overall numbers are far below than those of the year 2017 when the number of cases recorded was 186,000 island wide with 440 reported deaths, authorities warn that the Sri Lanka’s healthcare system is facing a severe strain. 

Hospital wards in the Western and Southern provinces are flooded with patients,  while Negombo District General Hospital has expanded beds, according to media reports. However, the rapid spread of the disease warn of a possible crisis situation, unless immediate preventive measures are taken.

The World Heath Organisation (WHO) points out that there is no specific antiviral drug to treat dengue fever. Treatment is supportive and focuses on managing symptoms — primarily through hydration and pain relief. Hence, the eradication of the disease exclusively relies on preventive measures, while protecting the lives of those who have already fallen victim to the virus.

The spike of dengue cases especially with the onset of the monsoon has become a routine issue in Sri Lanka. Reminding the proverbial monkey planning to have permanent shelter amidst heavy rains and forgetting all that once the showers cease; these are the times when all stakeholders, healthcare authorities, politicians and the media wake up from their slumber to make a big fuss about containing the disease once and for all. Articles are published in newspapers, doctors appear in media to create awareness, local government bodies start fumigation programmes, schools, temples, mosques, churches and various entities organise shramadana programmes to clean the environment, but all fade away and will be forgotten within weeks, just to be repeated the following year.

The misgiving and lethargy even among  relevant authorities about the causes of spread of the disease has resulted in this inconsistent annual ritual of cleaning campaigns. Local government authorities are primarily concerned about disposing garbage from households in the urban areas,  leaving the rest of the  country to be strewn with various types of non-degradable materials. Although the major cities are cleaned every day, piles of garbage can be witnessed on roadsides in other townships and rural areas. No proper drainage system exists in the country, except in a few major cities. 

Public behavioural and attitudinal issues not only overshadow these systemic failures, but aggravate them. Lifelong exposure to these untidy surroundings has conditioned people to tolerate it as if it were normal.

Family behaviour is an important factor that could help reduce or increase the amount of garbage in our surroundings. People throwing shopping bags or polythene wrappers or other packaging material and any other unwanted things on the roadside is a common sight. We  see daily thousands of children drinking freeze pops on their way home after school,  and all those empty wrappers are strewn on the roads. 

Can we find a single mother or father who has advised his son or daughter to bring home the yoghurt cup or the empty wrapper of the freeze pop or the empty biscuit packet to put it in the garbage bin at home, without throwing them on to the roadside? Even they themselves do not do so, leave alone advising the children. 

People’s attitude is a strong factor that contributes to creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.  We must have constant awareness programmes, instead of annual ritualistic ones, for the attitudinal correction.   

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