Dengue has been wreaking havoc in Bengaluru for a few weeks now. Over the past eight days, Bengaluru – encompassing BBMP, Bengaluru Urban, and Bengaluru Rural – has recorded a whopping 2,148 dengue cases.

On 8 July alone, the city reported 99 cases, while the entire state saw 197 cases. Tragically, six people have died after contracting dengue in the state. What has been distressing is that, even in the first half of 2024, Karnataka has reported a staggering 7,362 cases. The situation has also sparked a political slugfest, with parties blaming each other for the government’s handling of the crisis.

Agreeing that the number of dengue cases has gone up in the state, Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday, 8 July, speaking to the media said, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met on Sunday (7 July) and discussed the dengue situation in the state. He said that as there are many active dengue cases in the state, the number of tests being conducted have been increased and arrangements have been made for treatment. He said, amid a spike in dengue cases, officials have been issued directions to take all preventive measures.

“We have held separate meetings with CEOs of Zilla Panchayats from all districts and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Instructions have been given to spray medicines at places where mosquitoes germinate and spread more awareness among the public,” Rao said.

Is it a situation of “medical emergency”?

Recently, Leader of Opposition in Assembly, R Ashoka and eminent cardiologist and Bengaluru Rural MP Dr CN Manjunath had urged the Congress government to declare dengue as a “medical emergency” and called for more efforts to control the spread. The leader of opposition also criticised the health department for its “inability to handle the situation.”

Dr Manjunath, stating that dengue had become endemic in Karnataka and criticising the health department for not doing enough, told media, “there is no specific cure for dengue fever. So we must fight mosquitoes on a war footing. The government is faltering on this front.”

However, while the health minister agrees that the rise of dengue every day is a matter of concern, he opined that it is not a situation for political slugfests.

In the backdrop of advice from opposition leaders and others to declare dengue as a medical emergency, the Minister said, the situation now doesn’t call for declaring dengue as a “medical emergency” in the state, and rejected the suggestion made by the opposition BJP.

“The situation is not such, to declare it a medical emergency, because all the facilities are there, like beds, medicines,” he said the TAC was also of the opinion that the situation was not so grave.

What should the government be doing now?

Epidemiologists and doctors opine that this is a situation where one must not make it into a political slugfest. Speaking to South First, a senior epidemiologist who did not want to be named said, this is the time to tackle dengue with evidence based management and avoid misinformation. He said, this is a season when there will be dengue outbreaks and is not new.

Speaking about some of the strategies to adopt both short term and long term, he said there are four key features to the current programme. As part of short term strategy he said, there must be:

  • Proactive surveillance and stepped up control measures.
  • There must be risk-based prevention and intervention strategies like source reduction, advocacy and information dissemination. Also, training the private and government health professionals on warning signs and referrals.
  • There must be coordinated inter-sectoral cooperation between the public, private, and people sectors.
  • Meanwhile, as long term strategies, the government must use evidence-based adoption of new tools and strategies. The doctor advised that “The government must use the adoption of new vector surveillance and control tools, such as the Gravitrap and Wolbachia technology.”
  • The doctor further said that the government must look for sustained community acceptance. They must come up with multifaceted program with intensified coverage and source reduction efforts, lids or insecticide-treated covers must be used for water-storage containers, ensure broad social participation aiming at long term sustainbliltiy and sustainable urban development efforts.

It can be noted that Gavitrap is a tool used for mosquito surveillance, specially designed to attract and capture gravid (egg-laden) female mosquitoes. The primary purpose of these traps is to monitor mosquito populations, especially those of disease vectors like Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopicus, which are known carriers of diseases such as dengue, zika and chickungunya.

Meanwhile, Wolbachia technology involves the use of Wolbachia, naturally occurring bacterium found in many insect species, to control mosquito populations and reduce the transmission of monsquto-borne diseases.