GLOBALIZATION AND DISEASE

Globalization and disease

As medicine has progressed, many vaccines and cures have been developed for some of the worst diseases (plague, typhoid, typhus, cholera, hepatitis) which people suffer. But, because the evolution of disease organisms is very rapid, even with vaccines, there is difficulty providing full immunity to many diseases. Finding vaccines at all for some diseases remains extremely difficult. Without vaccines, the global world remains vulnerable to infectious diseases. There are 4 types of dengue virus some because more problems to the hosts and others less, it depends on the human immunity.

Recently the spread is due to migration of plumbers, carpenters and other workers from costal states of India to other states for jobs. They with them carry the virus and then the disease spreads rapidly in other places as the vector mosquito is present in all the states of India. Recent few reported deaths due to dengue patients at Delhi and Mumbai were from Odisha. My suggestion is to quarantine these migrating workers from the starting place with blood test and medical checkup, otherwise there will be chaotic situation all over the country. Due to rapid transport system and presence of vector mosquito more people may get affected and many may die when the politicians, public and press will start blaming the doctors for negligence. With no drug, and a potential vaccine a long way off, our only way of controlling Dengue Fever is to target the mosquitoes and transmission of virus from one human being to another by segregation of patients. Let’s restrict migration of people travelling from dengue affected areas to other places till the disease has been controlled.

Now that the assembly, LS and RS are not being utilized patients can be accommodated there if the government wants. There should be warning for foreign tourist about the dengue epidemic. Remember these female mosquitoes are day time blood suckers for their little ones inside the eggs. One thing is sure to get pseudo-protection from dengue many people,will go to babas, quacks and self styled doctors and would eat what ever they advice from cow dungs to tiger testes and those people will mint money more than the chit funds amount from the public, be careful about that. And no government can stop these black magic and false belief of the public.

Dr.Sanjoy Kumar Satpathy.MD.FCCP.

Ex-Faculty for SAARC countries, for infectious diseases.