What is Dengue?

• Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the infective bite of the Aedes Aegypti  mosquito.
• It is  caused by the dengue virus (Genus Flavivirus).
• Disease is developed after 5-6 days of being bitten by an infective mosquito.
• It occurs in two forms: Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever(DHF)
  • Dengue Fever is a severe, flu-like illness;
  • Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is a more severe form of disease,  which  may cause death.
• There are 4 serotypes of the virus that causes dengue. These are known as DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4.
  • Serotypes refer to separate groups within a species of a microorganisms that all share a similar characteristic. More specifically, each serotype has the same number of antigens on their surfaces.

• Nearly 100 million severe cases of dengue are reported worldwide every year. 
• Dengue cases (from 1.88 Lakh to About 40 thousand) and deaths in India have dropped by around 80 percent between 2017 and 2020, as per the official data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India reported 56 dengue deaths in 2020 – a drop of nearly 83 per cent since 2017, as per the data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).

Symptoms

• Abrupt onset of high fever, Severe frontal headache, Pain behind the eyes, Muscle and joint pains, Loss of sense of taste and appetite, Measles-like rash over chest and upper limbs, Nausea and vomiting.

Initiatives

• National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme

• • Launched in 2003-04 by merging National anti-malaria control programme, National Filaria Control Programme and Kala Azar Control programmes. Japanese B Encephalitis and Dengue/DHF have also been included in this Program. Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is the nodal agency for prevention and control of major Vector Borne Diseases

List of Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme Legislations:

1. National Anti – Malaria programme
2. Kala – Azar Control Programme
3. National Filaria Control Programme
4. Japenese Encephilitis Control Programme
5. Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever.

• Researchers from the World Mosquito Program recently used Wolbachia bacteria-infected mosquitoes to successfully control dengue fever.  This is called the Population Replacement Strategy.

Why in News?

• India’s Health Ministry flagged caution on the emerging challenge in 11 States across India of Serotype-II Dengue.

References:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-room-for-any-complacency-with-covid-19-health-ministry/article36537660.ece
2. https://vikaspedia.in/health/diseases/vector-borne-diseases/dengue