Dengue danger lurks in Jeddah By MARIAM NIHAL

Over a month after the Jan. 26 floods, local residents are combating fears of a malaria epidemic with the alarming rate of mosquitoes that have infested the city as a result of standing water. Jeddah’s winter months are characterized by lower temperatures and precipitation which cause seasonal increases in disease-spreading mosquitoes. The floods of Jan. 26 also helped to increase the amount of standing water in the city.

Residents have complained about the lack of preventative measures to combat mosquitoes, which lay their eggs in standing water such as puddles, spills from water and sewage trucks and in open cisterns or improvised water-storage containers inside or near homes. Potable water that has been tainted with sewage during the floods can also cause amoebic dysentery, which is potentially fatal to the young, the elderly and the infirm whose immune systems are compromised.

Health officials in the city had called on residents to take safety measures against dengue fever and infections and there has been a large turn up of people at hospitals and clinics to get vaccinated.

Shumaila Al-Mansour, an Indian who lives in the city’s Sahafa Street, used to stroll across the community park with her family and neighbors in the evenings. Now she refrains due to the stench of decayed waste and rotten sewage on the roads infested by mosquitoes and stays indoors.

“It reeks of garbage and the amount of mosquitoes outside is disturbing,” she told Arab News. “They are in my house or anywhere we go. People do not want to attend outdoor functions because you cannot stand in peace without battling the nonsensical amount of flies. I canceled my party recently due to this reason because I do not want guests swatting flies rather than enjoying a good time.”

Doctors say it can take up to six months for an outbreak of dengue to be identified following a flood. Residents have complained that the municipality should be doing more, such as spraying insecticides.

“The incompetence of the Health Affairs Department is alarming,” said Jumainah Ismael, a local resident of Sahafa district “What are they waiting for? It is as if they are waiting for a tragedy to happen before taking action against the disease. I can no longer send my kids outside for sports or other activities.”

Dengue and other mosquito-borne infections spread when the bloodsucking insects transfer viruses from an infected person or animal to the uninfected.

Treatment for dengue can be oral or intravenous rehydration for mild cases and intravenous fluids and blood transfusions for more severe cases.

Many local residents of Briman District are worried about germ-infested water in the post-flooded Jeddah area. It is imperative to implement a sustainable plan to deal with the rising number of dengue fever cases. The rain, floods and lack of sanitary measures to deal with post-flood diseases have caused environmental and health hazards.