Wipe out the virus, not the dengue mosquito, research group proposes
After years of consistent media reports that raised the alarm on killer dengue, a research group has declared that Sri Lanka is facing an “unprecedented'' dengue fever outbreak and boldly but controversially recommends that the virus be wiped out, rather than the mosquito.
The group, the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, headed by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, does not outline how the virus would be, or should be eliminated, or whether the world's leading microbiologists had recommended a way to do so. It does not say where in the world – including research laboratories - the virus had been wiped out.
Scientists have pointed out that the body's immune system is the first line of defence against the virus. Sri Lanka is also a participant in the World Health Organisation technical advisory group on dengue vaccines in late stage development. The group said on Friday, it finds the situation “disturbing'' and that it hosted a roundtable discussion with state and health sector “experts’’ at the Defence Ministry on Wednesday.
The news media, in particular, the Sunday Times, has been tracking the dengue danger and reporting extensively for a few years the crisis in hospitals, dearth of public health workers, lack of essential medicines and vaccines, personal stories of deaths of breadwinners, children, the elderly, and the sheer devastation the virus has been causing in whole families.
The group said in an email statement on Friday that the roundtable talks examined “the pervasive effects'' of the “emergency action'' that have been taken and “their implications for the future of the country.'' The group he leads insists that “the current state of the country warrants an immediate response''.
Sri Lankans have known for months that the island was in crisis and that concerted action was needed months earlier, not just now as 'experts' suggest at roundtable chats. The group says the “outcome’’ expected from the talks was a “proactive framework on how to minimise the threat of dengue and the paths needed to stop the epidemic from arising in the future.''
It says that to “curb this crisis, the researchers pointed out the importance of eradicating the causative organism which is the virus rather than the mosquito which is the vector''.
But, the World Health Organisation says that dengue prevention “is limited to vector control measures''.
The group says that, “as methods, they [the researchers] suggested to seek and destroy dengue breeding grounds; community-led clean up campaigns; legal action on the public; and equipping hospitals with adequate resources.''
These measures, too, have been underway for months in the country. Researchers in the talks, “presented a very important case study of the discovery of the Wolbachia bacteria by Professor Scott O’Neill of the Institute of Vector Borne Diseases at Monash University, which was used in Queensland, Australia,'' the group says. This has already been highlighted by the Sunday Times in a detailed report by Kumudini Hettiarachchi.
The group says that “dynamic solutions'' against dengue “were expounded.'' Among them, were “‘ Veta’, the fight dengue mobile app; locally-invented mosquito trap; ‘Oxitec’ re-engineered mosquitoes; release of dragonflies into the eco system and bacteria release by Debug were proposed''. A “10-year comprehensive, sustainable dengue eradication plan'' was also proposed.
“The significance of entomologists with a scientific approach to this problem and an action oriented task force monitored by a central location can prevent future crises of this proportion,'' the group confidently declares.
On a comforting note, the group offers that “medical experts in the forum provided some useful information with regard to understanding and combating the problem.'' But the experts of the group note that “reducing mortality is the challenge'' and that the disease “is one of the hardest to manage''.