Keep the disease at bay

The dengue fever is back in the City and more than 70 cases have been reported. Prominent hospitals say people are streaming in with dengue and dengue-like symptoms.

   Now that schools have reopened, children too are becoming susceptible to the infection. Are parents and school authorities doing enough to prevent children from getting infected? What are the precautions that need to be taken?

   Metrolife speaks to school authorities, parents and doctors to get a clear picture.
   While schools in the heart of the City don’t have garbage heaps and stagnant water — which are breeding ground for mosquitoes — in their surroundings, others are not so lucky.

   St John’s Road junction, for instance, has huge piles of garbage at two intersections. There are four or five schools on this stretch like St John’s High School, St Francis Xavier Girls’ High School, St Germain High School and Goodwill Girls’ High School. Princess Franklyn, principal of St John’s High School, says that she is helpless about garbage being dumped near the school.

“Our school premises is clean and we make sure the garbage is cleared on time. We have taken enough precaution against the mosquito menace. We fumigate the campus once in 15 days and all the classrooms are meshed and made mosquito-proof,” she says.

   Sudha Balan, principal of National Public School (NPS), Koramangala, says that their school premises is also fumigated.   

“All classrooms have mosquito repellents and we make sure there is no stagnant water within the school premises. A doctor visits the school at regular intervals, interacts with the students and briefs them on the precaution to be taken,” she says.

Doctors say the first step is not to get scared or panic.

It is all about taking precaution. Dr Jyothsna Krishnappa, senior consultant - Internal Medicine, Apollo Hospitals, explains that the mosquito menace is universal.

   “The areas where mosquitos breed must be cleared and fumigated from time to time. Dengue is a vector-borne disease and is transmitted only from one mosquito to
another. So people must take care not to get bitten,” she says. “We are only in the initial phase. The rains will only add to the problem,” she adds.

Most parents find the school premises well-maintained but complain about dirty surroundings.

   Nandini Manohar, who has two young children, says, “There’s stagnant water around most schools. The government bodies must ensure that there’s provision for water to flow and not stagnate. We advise our children and take a lot of precaution at home
and at school.”

   Maqbool, a businessman adds, “As parents, we ensure that our kids keep themselves clean but the City is dirty and the rains have aggravated the problem. The government must take note of this.”