Dengue, Malaria Risk Can Continue Beyond Monsoon, Doctors Warn
Internal medicine specialist Dr Sudhir B.S. said changing weather conditions and poor water management were creating mosquito breeding sites throughout the year.
Hyderabad: Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and chikungunya are no longer confined to the monsoon season, with changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, irregular rainfall and rapid urbanisation allowing mosquitoes to breed for longer periods, doctors said on the occasion of the World Mosquito Day.
Senior general physician Dr Syed Mustafa Ashraf said mosquito-borne infections were increasingly being seen outside the traditional seasonal pattern. In cities, even small amounts of stagnant water in coolers, flowerpots, open containers, construction sites and terraces can provide breeding grounds.
“Mosquito control cannot be limited to the monsoon. Prevention has to continue throughout the year,” he said, stressing the need to remove stagnant water, cover water containers and use measures to prevent mosquito bites.
Senior consultant, general medicine, Dr Chaitanya Challa said one of the major concerns was that people often dismiss fever outside the monsoon as a routine viral infection. Dengue, malaria and chikungunya can initially cause similar symptoms such as fever, headache, body pain, weakness, nausea and vomiting.
“Persistent fever, repeated vomiting, abdominal pain, unusual bleeding, excessive weakness, drowsiness or breathing difficulty should not be ignored,” he said.
He cautioned that in dengue, a fall in temperature does not always mean that the patient is recovering. The critical phase can occur around the time the fever settles, usually during days three to seven of illness and some patients can develop complications during this period.
Senior consultant-general physician Dr Krishna Murthy Daram said the risk of mosquito-borne diseases depended on local temperature, rainfall, humidity, mosquito activity and environmental conditions rather than simply the calendar season.
Internal medicine specialist Dr Sudhir B.S. said changing weather conditions and poor water management were creating mosquito breeding sites throughout the year.