Rain will aggravate dengue situation : virologist

The current spell of rain in Gangetic West Bengal will aggravate the dengue situation in the region, a senior virologist has warned.
"Going by the current climatic conditions, there are high possibilities of the dengue situation worsening and spreading. The more the rainfall, more will be the chances of rainwater getting accumulated in the numerous man-made biotopes scattered everywhere surrounding our residences," virologist Amitava Nandy told PTI today.
There have been incessant rains since early this morning affecting normal life in the metropolis.
The meteorological department has forecast heavy rain in Gangetic West Bengal till Friday owing to a depression over west central Bay of Bengal.

"After the rains stop the mosquitoes will start laying eggs. The incubation will take another three to five days before the eggs are hatched. So in another 15 to 20 days time we can witness another outbreak of new cases of dengue. The same goes for malaria also," Nandy, specialist in dengue, malaria and chikungunya and other vector-borne diseases, stated.
West Bengal has since January witnessed around 19 dengue deaths besides over 20,000 cases reported mainly from districts like North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata, as per the state health department.

However, if there is a dip in the temperature in the next few days the virus would "slow down" and the rise in the number of dengue instances would be arrested, the doctor said.

"If there is a significant fall in the temperature the virus will slow down and the spread of the disease will be arrested. But if the temperature continues to remain hot and humid then the dengue condition will continue remain the same or may worsen. So within another 18-19 days we will be able to understand the affect," he said.
Sounding a note of caution, he said the people must be very careful. "They must be vigilant and must be very alert during this period. They must ensure that there is no place for the mosquitoes to breed.