Lucknow Schools Ordered to Follow Special Directions as Dengue Measures

With the incessant rise in number of dengue cases reported in Lucknow this year, District Inspector of School (DIOS) and Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) have given several directions to school in Lucknow on prevention of dengue.

Students have been asked to wear full-sleeved shirts and pants, salwar, kurtas, shoes and socks. The authorities told schools that students should get treatment immediately if they fall sick.

In the prayer meeting, students will be told about dengue prevention. The schools have also received instructions to keep cleanliness in the premises and surroundings and do not allow waterlogging at nearby areas.

According to World Health Organisation, dengue is fast emerging pandemic-prone viral disease in many parts of the world. Dengue flourishes in urban poor areas, suburbs and the countryside but also affects more affluent neighbourhoods in tropical and subtropical countries.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main vector that transmits the viruses that cause dengue. The viruses are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female Aedes mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.

Once infected, humans become the main carriers and multipliers of the virus, serving as a source of the virus for uninfected mosquitoes. The virus circulates in the blood of an infected person for 2-7 days, at approximately the same time that the person develops a fever. Patients who are already infected with the dengue virus can transmit the infection via Aedes mosquitoes after the first symptoms appear (during 4-5 days; maximum 12).

In humans recovery from infection by one dengue virus provides lifelong immunity against that particular virus serotype. However, this immunity confers only partial and transient protection against subsequent infection by the other three serotypes of the virus. Evidence points to the fact that sequential infection increases the risk of developing severe dengue. The time interval between infections and the particular viral sequence of infections may also be of importance.