Steps being taken to contain dengue spread: DPH Director

Tamil Nadu takes steps to contain dengue spread; microbiologists play crucial role in pandemic control and climate change research.

As Tamil Nadu has recorded about 18,000 dengue cases in the last eight to nine months, steps were being taken to contain the spread, said Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine T. S. Selvavinayagam. 

Speaking at a national conclave on vector-borne diseases event conducted by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Madurai on Saturday, he said that though malaria was eliminated in the State barring only a few districts, dengue has always remained a problem which spreads seasonally.  

“In addition to the role of government and local bodies, the public by making sure their surroundings remain clean by clearing off any possibilities of water stagnation could eliminate it. As dengue mosquitoes have a flight range of 500 metres, it is every individual’s surrounding that must remain clean and healthy,” he noted. 

Speaking about the role of microbiologists in any pandemic, he said that their work in identifying a variant of a virus and sequencing its genome played a major role in finding a vaccine to control the outbreak.  

The role of microbiologists was indispensable in developing antibiotics through the genome sequenced. Intervening more viruses and studying their nature would be effective in creating a database of microbes and pathogens to come up with changes in policies and new approaches in achieving successful treatment. 

“The genome sequencing will also help in creating artificial microbes. If it is done successful, it will be a game changer in the pharmaceutical industry, clinical medicine, etc.,” Dr. Selvavinayagam added.  

Microbiologists rather than restricting themselves to clinical microbiology should go beyond that to explore in other fields like environment and climate change.