Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
The National Dengue day is observed on 16 May with the recommendation of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Dengue is prevalent across the country. Dengue has wreaked havoc across India, yet current surveillance captures only laboratory-confirmed cases from government-identified sentinel hospitals, most of which are in the public sector, meaning many infections go unreported and the true scale of the problem remains hidden. Dengue has now eclipsed malaria in terms of morbidity and mortality in several regions, and globally dengue fever affects close to 400 million people each year, with about 40% of the world’s population at risk of exposure and infection.
A major reason for the rise in dengue is the failure of mosquito control programs, as governments often treat vector control as a seasonal or outbreak-driven activity instead of a year-round process, and for India to achieve its goal of eliminating malaria by 2030 and to curb other vector-borne diseases like dengue, sustained effort and strong political will are essential.
While malaria remains one of the country’s worst public health challenges, endangering one in every six Indians and causing nearly 50,000 deaths annually due to complications, dengue requires equal urgency, and immediate diagnosis and treatment of both diseases can prevent complications and death.
For malaria, every reported case triggers mapping and intensive fogging or spraying of pesticides in surrounding areas, but for dengue, which is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that bites during the day and breeds in clean, stagnant water, a different approach is needed because one of the major causes of mosquito breeding is water stagnation in homes, construction sites, discarded containers, coolers, and plant pots, making public awareness critical.
Recognition of mosquito breeding sites should be taught in schools and known to every adult, and community participation must be mobilized through weekly “dry day” campaigns where households empty and scrub all water containers to destroy eggs. The present overemphasis on mosquito repellents and fogging has done little to stop breeding since fogging only kills adult mosquitoes and gives temporary relief without addressing larvae, so instead of only focusing on preventing bites, we must attack the source by eliminating breeding grounds while also universalizing the use of mosquito nets, window screens, and full-sleeved clothing, especially for children and during daytime when Aedes mosquitoes are active.
To strengthen the fight against dengue, real-time surveillance must be improved by expanding case reporting beyond sentinel hospitals to include private clinics, labs, and digital health platforms to capture the true burden, and early warning systems should be introduced using weather data, rainfall, and temperature trends to predict outbreaks and launch preventive action before cases spike.
Municipal accountability must be strengthened by making ward-level officials responsible for vector-control outcomes with public dashboards tracking breeding sites cleared and cases reported, and there should be greater investment in research on local solutions because despite traditional knowledge of neem, cow dung, and other plant-based repellents, scientific research on their effectiveness in dengue prevention remains limited. Year-round targeted IEC campaigns are needed using TV, radio, social media, and school curricula to teach “search and destroy” habits for breeding sites, and rapid testing must be ensured by making NS1 antigen and IgM tests widely available at primary health centers to enable early diagnosis and reduce severe cases, along with training healthcare workers to differentiate dengue from other fevers and manage warning signs like persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and bleeding to prevent deaths.
Urban planning must also address the issue by enforcing building codes that prevent water logging, ensuring proper drainage, and regulating construction sites that often become breeding hotspots. Eliminating dengue and malaria must be a national priority, but grand pronouncements are meaningless if data is incomplete and governance is weak, because bad data distorts planning and poor execution wastes resources, so we need accurate reporting, consistent funding, community ownership, and science-backed action. Recognition of mosquito breeding should be universal knowledge, and until we shift from reactive fogging to proactive breeding-site elimination, mosquitoes will keep biting and diseases will keep spreading.
(The author is a freelancer and can be reached at [email protected])
