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You’ve heard the adage – Prevention is the best Cure?
Well, in the case of the ‘killer viral disease’ of Dengue this is more than true. This disease has seen a big spurt in the city recently and 257 cases have been reported in just 14 days!
NMC says Houses are breeding spots, and for once they are right.
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Friday 07March 2025
No one can avoid getting Dengue, AND it has no cure, being a virus borne infection. (What doctors and hospitals give you is symptomatic and supportive treatment, to prevent secondary infections, keep fever in check, prevent dehydration etc. )
We therefore asked our local Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Ashwini Tayde, ( there are just two of her specialty in Nagpur!) what one could do to prevent it.
These are the three tips she gave:
Keep water from accumulating in your own environs, like home, garden etc.
Not all mosquitoes cause Dengue. The Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits the viruses that cause dengue fever. The female mosquito lays eggs in containers with water and plants inside and out of your homes. It bites people and animals. This is a very sneaky and very hardy species that can survive year round in tropical and subtropical climates.
The eggs can lay latent for months in dry weather and dry conditions and begin multiplying as soon as they get water. They can thrive and multiply in very little water, so make sure no water accumulates at the base of your potted plants, in patches of your garden or even on your bathroom floor!
The saving grace is these mosquitoes cannot fly long distances so you need to worry more about your own immediate environment rather than mosquitoes that will inevitably breed in nullahs, rivers and unsanitary dump yards.
These mosquitoes bite during day time so wear long sleeved clothes
Most of us use precautions against mosquito bites at night when we sleep. But remember these dengue mosquitoes bite during the day. So send your children to school wearing full sleeve shirts and pants/ leggings wherever possible. The point is to keep your body covered.
Also remember mosquito repellent creams work only for 4 hours. So keep applying periodically
Most of these creams are so foul smelling that we assume they work for long durations, like at least 8 hours. They do not.
You must apply them every 4 hours to really prevent repel mosquitoes.
If you, or someone in your family, does get fever watch out for these warning signs of Dengue. This fever is followed by symptoms like headache, body ache, nausea and vomiting.
If fever persists for 2 days along with these symptoms, see a Doctor immediately.
Abroad, an anti Dengue vaccination has been developed but it is yet to come to India. It is reported to work against all 4 strains of Dengue.
“The vaccines should be available in India next year. The best care we can take meanwhile is take above precautions” says Dr. Ashwini Tayde.
