News
New battle against dengue to be fought inside mozzie bodies
Dengue-killing bacteria imported from Australia – which reports huge success with its programme – will be spread through the local mosquito population this year as figures show dengue has doubled in ferocity.
The Wolbachia pilot project, which was due to be tested during the dengue outbreak in 2017, will be introduced to the island next month by health authorities.
Discussions are currently being held with regional and provincial directors of health services about the implementation of the strategic plan, the National Dengue Control Unit said.
Unit Director Dr. Anura Jayasekera said the authorities have been preparing for the pilot project for almost a year.
The programme involves injecting Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs with the Wolbachia bacteria, which blocks the dengue virus from replicating in the tissues of mosquitoes and thus prevents them from transmitting the dengue virus to humans.
Mosquito eggs were sent to Australia to be injected with Wolbachia. Dengue rates in parts of Australia have dropped by around 90 per cent after Wolbachia started being used. Mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia are released into mosquito-ridden areas where they mate and pass the dengue-blocking bacteria to future generations.
“This project requires a lot of attention from experts and hence is being conducted with the assistance of the Monash University in Australia,” Dr. Jayasekera said. The pilot project will take place in Nugegoda and Dematagoda where the lab-grown mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia will be released.
Statistics revealed by the NDCU shows the reported number of dengue cases and deaths in 2019 doubled from 2018.
Last year, 100 people died from a reported 100,493 cases of dengue; in 2018, 56 people died from a reported 51,659 dengue cases. Changed weather patterns of lengthened rainfall are significant problem in dealing with dengue.
In just the first week of this year, 230 dengue cases and one death have been reported. The fatality occurred in Batticaloa, and the area Director of Health Services, Dr. L.M. Navaratnarajah, said weather and delayed collection of garbage were to blame.
“The recent rains have contributed in causing havoc and people are finding it difficult to discard containers [because] there are delays in garbage collection in certain areas,” she said.
Kaluwanchikudy, Arayampathy, Chenkaladi, Valaichchenai and Kattankudy have been identified as high-risk areas for dengue in Batticaloa.
In Jaffna, Chavakachcheri, Nallur, Uduvil, Chankanai, Tellipalai, Kopay, Point Pedro, Sandilipay, Jaffna and Karaveddy are high-risk areas. The Jaffna Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. E. Devanesan said fish were being introduced into potential breeding grounds such as wells to consume mosquito larvae, and medical staff were receiving increased training in prevention and cure of the illness.
In the Gampaha health service area – where almost 30 people died last year from dengue, with Wattala, Ja-Ela and Negombo the high-risk areas – rain is again a problem.
Colombo has the highest rate of dengue (20,183 cases last year). The next highest rates are from the Gampaha health services area (15,603), Kandy (8,741) and Jaffna (7,872).