Building boom breeding dengue.DENGUE dengue or breakbone fever or dandy fever Infectious, disabling mosquito-borne fever. Other symptoms include extreme joint pain and stiffness, intense pain behind the eyes, a return of fever after brief pause, and a characteristic rash. may be a price Delhiites are paying for better infrastructure. Largescale construction activity in the city may be responsible for the spiralling cases of dengue, a top official of the World Health Organisation ( WHO) has warned. " There is a lot of economic activity and unregulated construction going on. No proper public health measures are being taken at such sites," said Dr Jai P. Narain, director of communicable diseases at the WHO's regional office for South- East Asia East Asia A region of Asia coextensive with the Far East. East Asian adj. & n. . " If you are engaged in construction work, you have to make sure that the construction activity does not give rise to situations that may jeopardise the health of people," he said. Mosquitoes carrying dengue virus dengue virus n. A virus of the genus Flavivirus that is the cause of dengue. breed in stagnant water. At all construction sites, water is used in large amounts and it is usually stored in open tanks or temporary brick structures which are ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Construction of new roads, flyovers, metro stations, stadia and other structures related to Commonwealth Games Commonwealth games, series of amateur athletic meets held among citizens of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Originated (1930) as the British Empire games, the series is held every four years and is patterned after the Olympic games; women have participated is going on at dozens of sites in the city. Narain said vector- borne diseases such as dengue and malaria are also closely linked with climate change. " Already, we are seeing how vectors are moving from one geographic area to another," he said. Nepal and Bhutan, which had never seen dengue earlier, have reported cases for the first time. Mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue virus have been found at much higher altitude than before, indicating that areas which were cooler have now become warmer. The two diseases have been reported from higher altitudes in Darjeeling and Nainital. Narain said the argument on health impact of climate change has not been made forcefully. " We have to project that climate change ( causes) health problem also. But not enough empirical data is available on the impact of climate change on health." The WHO recently decided to initiate two studies that will look at changes in climatic factors, such as rainfall and temperature, and correlate them with the occurrence of cholera in Kolkata and vector- borne diseases in Nepal. dineshc. harma@mailtoday.in Copyright 2009 India Today This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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