Government Aims To Reduce Dengue Infection Rate By 60% In Next Five Years

Kathmandu, June 11: The government has started preparation to reduce the dengue infection rate by 60 per cent in the next five years.

The Ministry of Health and Food Safety has prepared a multi-sectoral plan for dengue prevention and control, which states that in the next five years, all federal, provincial, and local government bodies will be involved in dengue control and prevention to achieve the target.

The government's goal is to reduce the mortality from dengue to less than 0.01 per cent.

The ministry has said that in addition, special efforts will be made under the plan to reduce the severe consequences of dengue. To achieve the goal, the government will use all mechanisms to monitor the spread of the disease.

It will strengthen the 'early warning system' to alert people in high-risk areas before dengue-carrying mosquitoes start breeding in those areas. The government also aims to make the 'integrated vector surveillance system' effective and sustainable to activate responses as soon as the entry of dengue-carrying mosquitoes is detected.

Apart from this, the government aims to make communication on this matter effective to reduce the risk of disease. The government also plans to run a 'Clean Friday' programme, doing extra cleaning every week to destroy mosquito breeding under the scheme.

With global temperatures rising, dengue, which was previously seen only in the Tarai a few years ago, was reported last year in all 77 districts of the country. This year too, so far, dengue has been found in 915 people across 68 districts, with one person having died.

To prevent the disease from spreading, the government has formed a national 'Dengue Task Force' led by the Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division.