Summary:
Brief Background:
The webinar proceedings was started by the Master of ceremony Dr. Anjwani Rimal who introduced the speaker Dr. Surya B Parajuli and the moderator Dr. Alisha Manandhar.
Dr. Surya is an Associate Professor of Community Medicine at Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital and also the Vice President of Nepalese Society of Community Medicine (NESCOM). He has contributed to Dengue Research, Prevention, and Control in Eastern Nepal through Dengue Education Campaign (DEC) since last 10 years. He also completed his MD thesis on Dengue during an outbreak in Eastern Nepal in 2013/14 AD.
Dr. Alisha Manandhar, the moderator of the program is a lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health at KIST Medical College and teaching hospital. She is an organizing member of the NESCOM webinar and certified in leadership and management in health profession development from the University of Washington.
Dr. Surya started the presentation with a beautiful poem about dengue’s current upsurge. He then talked about the DEC and gave some statistics about the number of infected cases and deaths, and mentioned the high-risk areas of Nepal for Dengue infections. He described the Dengue virus, its vector, and the high-risk patients for Dengue infections. He then described the clinical features of Dengue infection and then elaborately discussed the Dengue prevention strategies and highlighted the reasons for the surge in current Dengue cases. He pointed out the methods of diagnosing Dengue cases, their treatment and ended his presentation by laying importance on the need for Integrated Vector Management and enhanced disease surveillance to control the current upsurge.
At the end of the presentation, interesting zoom poll questions were welcomed focusing on the understanding of the topic which the speaker answered with excellent, clarity and precision.
The webinar lasted for 1 hr. and 20 minutes, and at the end of the webinar session, on behalf NESCOM a certificate of appreciation was presented to Dr. Parajuli. Around 80 participants were present during the webinar. The webinar ended with the concluding remarks by Dr. Anjwani Rimal (MC for the program) along with the announcement of the upcoming webinar on “Opportunities for public health professionals in global health career” on 30th September 2022.
Objectives:
- To address the current upsurge of Dengue in Nepal
- To understand the reasons for rising Dengue cases
- To know the diagnostic methods for Dengue
- To understand the management of cases of Dengue
Key points that came up during the discussion:
- Dengue Education Campaign from 2012 to 2022 is ongoing
- Number of Dengue-infected cases and deaths in Nepal:
11 deaths and 11000 infections (2004 – 2022) - High-risk areas of Nepal:
Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Makwanpur, Bhaktapur, Rupandehi, Dang, Dhading, Tehrathum, Kavrepalanchok and Chitwan
- History of Global Scenario, South East Asian Region, and Nepal
- Introduction to Dengue Virus
- Information about the vector Aedes including its appearance, life cycle, modes of transmission
- High-risk patients for Dengue infection:
- Less than 1 year of infants
- More than 60 years of elderly
- Obese, Pregnant, Peptic Ulcer patients
- Thalassemia, Congenital Heart diseases
- Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Cirrhosis of the liver, Chronic Kidney Disease
- Under medications such as Steroids or NSAIDs
- Clinical features of Dengue infection
- WHO Dengue case classification
- Dengue Prevention methods:
- Preventing small and clean water accumulation in containers such as tires, empty cans, flower pots, coolers, and empty drums
- Preventing the entry of mosquitoes into water tanks
- Wearing full sleeves to cover arms
- Mosquito-repellent creams
- Sleeping inside mosquito nets especially for children and chronic disease sufferers
- Nets in windows and doors
- Cleaning the surroundings
- Is there a vaccine for Dengue?
- Mosquito breeding places and their association with the risk of Dengue: Highest risk with flower vases with holding plate
- Reasons for the increase in Dengue cases:
- Unorganized city planning
- Improper waste management
- Human migration to distant places
- Increasing use of plastic products, tires,
- Weather: summer and monsoon, global warming
- Increasing population
- Methods to identify Dengue cases
- Treatment of Dengue
- COMBI (Communication for Behavioral Change Initiative) for Dengue prevention and control in 2009 in 12 high-risk districts in Srilanka
- Integrated Vector Management
- Actions to be taken for Dengue Prevention and Control at household, community, and institutional levels
- Enhanced disease surveillance
- Types of indices used for larval and pupal sampling
Points for the Policy brief:
Actions for Dengue prevention and control are required more at the household, community, and institutional levels rather than at the policy level because individual measures would help curb the rise in Dengue cases. There is a need for launching a “Dengue search and destroy drive campaign” across the country to prevent future outbreaks
Point to be discussed in the executive committee:
Role of Nepalese society of Community Medicine (NESCOM) in organizing interactive sessions for better understanding of steps for Dengue transmission. prevention and control.
Conclusion:
Dengue infections are currently rising at an alarming rate in Nepal and are becoming a serious Public Health issue, adding a burden to both the healthcare system and individual patients. Without effective preventive strategies, the infection rates can soar by leaps and bounds in the near future such that the healthcare system of Nepal can become overwhelmed with Dengue cases.