ED: Prevention is better than cure

With close to 500 patients currently hospitalized and undergoing treatment, and over a hundred being admitted to hospitals on a daily basis, the threat of dengue looks to be getting worse.

What makes dengue even more serious is the fact that Bangladesh is currently going through its worst period of the Covid-19 pandemic, and our health care facilities are already being stretched to their fullest capacity. Therefore, it is vital that the authorities concerned make dengue prevention a priority and, to that end, it is encouraging to see that there is some work being done on this front.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has started conducting drives to various houses, establishments, and under-construction buildings -- to destroy breeding grounds of mosquitoes in the city corporation area -- and has rightfully fined the owners of the establishments where Aedes mosquito larvae were found. Moreover, public awareness activities are also continuing in various wards of the DSCC.

These are good steps being undertaken by the DSCC, and we hope that the other city corporations in the country take note of their work and also start their own prevention measures within their respective corporations. It is also equally important to continue these measures and broaden their reach, as only a sustained and expansive effort will yield the desired results in curbing the prevalence of dengue.

As has been said time and time again, prevention of any disease is far better than scrambling to cure it. With our health care facilities already overwhelmed, we could be looking at a disastrous outcome if the authorities concerned do not prioritize the prevention of dengue.