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Editor-in-Chief & President
Dengue alert!: Islamabad at high risk, warns entomologist
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: The threat of dengue is unlikely to go away any time soon with Islamabad and Haripur in particular danger from the Albopictus mosquito, a top entomologist warned on Tuesday.
?I am afraid that dengue, like malaria, would now continue to haunt us for a long time and in this light, the situation is quite dangerous in the sub-mountainous region of Haripur, with Islamabad at high risk too,? said Dr Muhammad Mukhtar from the Directorate of Malaria Control.
?An outbreak of an epidemic is a possibility and therefore adequate preventive measures would have to be taken,? he said a day after two patients suspected of suffering from Dengue Fever were brought to a hospital in Rawalpindi, raising the number of suspected cases to five.
Mukhtar pointed out that previously they had the Aedesaegypti mosquito to handle but with the emergence of the Albopictus, the problems would multiply. ?Strategies have to be redefined as the traits of both mosquitoes are different,? he said.
While the Aedesaegypti is found inside homes, the other one exists outside and hence steps such as fogging would have to be done more scientifically, with districts and communities also having to play their part. ?At the moment the resources are not enough to curb the problem, therefore more needs to be done by all parties involved,? he said.
Having done research on mosquitoes for 15 years, he said that important principles were ignored during the fogging process to fight the Aedesaegypti in the past which was done out in the open, although the focus should have been homes where adult female mosquitoes lay eggs.
?The homes were unfortunately not targeted during the fogging drive in 2005 and it meant a waste of resources,? he said, adding that whatever exercise was carried out then was not done along scientific lines.
?Fogging was done mostly at midday, when there was no sign of the mosquito,? he said. ?Factors like the direction of air and speed of the fogging vehicle were ignored and the executing staff was not properly trained,? he explained.
Nominated for the Best Young Entomologist of the Year in 2002, Mukhtar said while the Aedesaegypti was found mostly in the southern parts of the country, the Albopictus species existed in sub-mountainous regions such as Islamabad, Haripur and Murree.
Pakistan has 132 varieties of mosquito, each having different breeding habits. ?It is important that we study the resting, feeding and breeding habits of the dengue mosquito in order to be successful,? he said.
The Directorate of Malaria Control has 33 million mosquitoes for research purposes collected from various countries.
In fighting the dengue mosquito, Mukhtar called for more entomologists. ?At the moment there aren?t any experts in the provinces. Therefore it is necessary that we have people who know all about mosquitoes,? he said while calling upon the media to play a positive role in highlighting the disease, its causes and the preventive measures that are required.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\12\05\story_5-12-2007_pg11_12
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: The threat of dengue is unlikely to go away any time soon with Islamabad and Haripur in particular danger from the Albopictus mosquito, a top entomologist warned on Tuesday.
?I am afraid that dengue, like malaria, would now continue to haunt us for a long time and in this light, the situation is quite dangerous in the sub-mountainous region of Haripur, with Islamabad at high risk too,? said Dr Muhammad Mukhtar from the Directorate of Malaria Control.
?An outbreak of an epidemic is a possibility and therefore adequate preventive measures would have to be taken,? he said a day after two patients suspected of suffering from Dengue Fever were brought to a hospital in Rawalpindi, raising the number of suspected cases to five.
Mukhtar pointed out that previously they had the Aedesaegypti mosquito to handle but with the emergence of the Albopictus, the problems would multiply. ?Strategies have to be redefined as the traits of both mosquitoes are different,? he said.
While the Aedesaegypti is found inside homes, the other one exists outside and hence steps such as fogging would have to be done more scientifically, with districts and communities also having to play their part. ?At the moment the resources are not enough to curb the problem, therefore more needs to be done by all parties involved,? he said.
Having done research on mosquitoes for 15 years, he said that important principles were ignored during the fogging process to fight the Aedesaegypti in the past which was done out in the open, although the focus should have been homes where adult female mosquitoes lay eggs.
?The homes were unfortunately not targeted during the fogging drive in 2005 and it meant a waste of resources,? he said, adding that whatever exercise was carried out then was not done along scientific lines.
?Fogging was done mostly at midday, when there was no sign of the mosquito,? he said. ?Factors like the direction of air and speed of the fogging vehicle were ignored and the executing staff was not properly trained,? he explained.
Nominated for the Best Young Entomologist of the Year in 2002, Mukhtar said while the Aedesaegypti was found mostly in the southern parts of the country, the Albopictus species existed in sub-mountainous regions such as Islamabad, Haripur and Murree.
Pakistan has 132 varieties of mosquito, each having different breeding habits. ?It is important that we study the resting, feeding and breeding habits of the dengue mosquito in order to be successful,? he said.
The Directorate of Malaria Control has 33 million mosquitoes for research purposes collected from various countries.
In fighting the dengue mosquito, Mukhtar called for more entomologists. ?At the moment there aren?t any experts in the provinces. Therefore it is necessary that we have people who know all about mosquitoes,? he said while calling upon the media to play a positive role in highlighting the disease, its causes and the preventive measures that are required.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\12\05\story_5-12-2007_pg11_12