Tackling dengue in Pakistan: an Infectious Thoughts interview
Dengue infections are soaring to record highs this month in Pakistan, a country used to frequent and severe dengue outbreaks, as numbers reach nearly 50,000 recorded cases and 80 deaths so far. In this Infectious Thoughts interview, Kamran Rafiq from the ISNTD speaks with Dr. Somia Iqtadar, Chairperson of the Dengue Expert Advisory Group, and Pr. Muhammad Ali Khan, Secretary of the Dengue Expert Advisory Group (DEAG), about the dengue burden in Pakistan, and the partnerships
Unprecedented dengue in Nepal: Myths & Misunderstandings
Since August this year, over 9,000 people from 65 of Nepal’s 77 districts have been diagnosed with dengue, including six patients who have died, in an unprecedented outbreak of the disease. High altitudes are thought to have precluded the Aedes mosquito from becoming established in Nepal and surrounding regions, but some believe that climate change may be to blame for changes in environment which enabled a recent dengue outbreak. Dr. Sher Bahadur Pun is a senior infectious di
Country experience: dengue in Ethiopia
My name is Yibeltal Akelew and I'm from the Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology School of Biomedical and Laboratory Science, Debre Markos University, Ethiopia. Despite outbreak reports and some serological surveys, the dengue virus is the most significant under-recognized arbovirus in Ethiopia. I have been working on a project looking at acute fever for a masters thesis in Ethiopia that mainly focuses on arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever), bacteria
Understanding patient mobility patterns to tackle dengue transmission
The mosquito species that can transmit dengue tend to remain close to their breeding sites and have low mobility - comparatively, the impact of human mobility in the transmission of this disease is substantial, in particular given that these mosquitoes are prone to establishing themselves in densely populated urban areas. In dengue patients, the symptoms of the illness have a strong impact on the mobility choices of infectious individuals. Recent research has looked at the da
In the frontline: Disease Control Agents' role, an insight from Brazil
Vector control and environmental management are crucial aspects of dengue control, with professionals in the field delivering these interventions as thoroughly as possible and providing an essential link between communities and the health and prevention sector. However, a number of challenges mean that it can remain difficult to maintain staff numbers and momentum in these positions - globally, technical knowledge of vectors can remain insufficient, training opportunities are
A web-GIS approach to mapping dengue outbreaks
Dengue fever was first recorded in Pakistan in 1982, with about a dozen cases confirmed. The disease has been spreading in scope and intensity over the last few decades, with a major outbreak in 2010 launching a new period of frequent and severe outbreaks for this high burden country. Efforts are being stepped up to both prevent infections within communities as well as harness numerous and innovative approaches to predict when and where outbreaks might occur to best channel r
Mosquito control: targeting breeding sites using street view images
In addition to personal protection against mosquito bites and the chemical control of mosquitoes and their larvae, the removal of common breeding sites is one of the most important and effective steps in controlling mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit. Recent research has sought to use geotagged images obtained through Google's Street View to map the most common types of open containers in order to facilitate and accelerate the detection of these and generate a decision
Dengue in the Americas: rising concern as further local cases detected
This month, a second case of locally-acquired dengue has been confirmed in Florida by health authorities. This means that in addition to a significant rise in the number of dengue infections in residents of Florida who have traveled abroad, two cases in 2019 have been confirmed as autochthonous. Although dengue outbreaks in the U.S. remain rare, the disease carrying mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is established in the U.S. which means that there is always a risk for the local trans
Dengue hospitalisations in Singapore: reducing the burden of epidemics on healthcare systems
Singapore has regularly faced outbreaks of dengue. Following a severe epidemic in 2005, authorities reviewed hospital admission criteria in a bid to reduce pressures on the healthcare system. In this Infectious Thoughts interview, we speak to Ms. Li Wei Ang, a principal medical statistician in the National Public Health and Epidemiology Unit at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, about recent research evaluating the impact of reduced hospital admissions fo
Towards the biocontrol of dengue: copepods as predators of Aedes larvae in Sri Lanka
With the expansion of the disease-transmitting Aedes mosquitoes worldwide, researchers have been exploring control strategies to enhance and complement traditional chemical and mechanical vector control methods. The biocontrol of Aedes larvae by natural predators such as copepods or guppy fish has been increasingly studied and evaluated. Recent research conducted in Sri Lanka has assessed the potential for the biocontrol of Aedes larvae by five locally available copepods. In
