Dengue Task Force to Collect Information on the Situation

The National task force established by President Mohamed Nasheed to spearhead efforts to control dengue fever in the country has started a special program to collect information on dengue-related records throughout the country. Task force members would be visiting every household on a door-to-door basis, in order to gather information on dengue cases, and will also collect records from hospitals and healthcare centres all over the country.

Speaking on behalf of the task force created two days ago by the President, Dr. Abdullah Nazeer, Deputy Minister of Education and dengue task force member, said that records related to dengue cases have not been properly kept and updated, creating a serious problem for efforts to counter the disease that has claimed the lives of 4 children already.

“We do not have valid and updated information on how many adults and children have been struck with the fever. We have been contacting hospitals and healthcare centres throughout the country, and visiting from door-to-door to gather information”, said Dr. Nazeer. He said that once the information gathering process is complete, areas where the problem of dengue has been most serious would be identified, and all necessary measures would be taken to bring matters into hand.

Dr. Nazeer also said that the task force had begun programs to increase public awareness about dengue in collaboration with various media outlets, and that further programs had been designed to control mosquitoes, the carrier of the deadly fever.

In a press conference, Dr. Fathimath Nazla, medical officer at Centre for Health and Disease Control (CHDC) told the media today that 1353 cases of dengue had been reported by 25th of the last month.