THREE viral diseases, having similar symptoms of fever and body aches, raging at a time is worrying as it harms patient and hospital management. Whilst the Aedes mosquito is the primary vector of dengue and chikungunya viruses, Covid-19 spreads through small airborne droplets that the infected individuals discharge when they breathe, talk, cough or sneeze. Individuals infected with either dengue or chikungunya do not usually need different protocols for treatment. But individuals infected with any of the three viruses are advised tests to detect the type of infections. With three diseases spreading at a time, tests are recommended for the diagnosis of all the three. This adds to the financial burden on patients and delays any critical medical intervention that might be needed. The proposition also strains hospital resources because of not only the patient rush but also different management protocols needed to treat patients with each of the diseases. Infection with multiple viruses at the same time could also add to the risk of death because of a delayed beginning of the treatment and the confusion that remains about the diseases.
Besides, as a virologist who is a former vice-chancellor of the Bangladesh Medical University says, an individual infected with more than one virus runs more fatality risks, noting that individuals infected with one virus may contract the other diseases as hospital management is not generally considered good. Official figures say that there have been 499 Covid cases, with 18 death, so far reported this year. For dengue, the number of dengue cases reported is 8,870, with 36 death. The Directorate General of Health Services is not keeping any account of chikungunya cases, but the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research has confirmed 153 cases of chikungunya in January鈥揗ay 28, with all cases having been reported from Dhaka. The disease control and research agency in December 2024 reported 11 cases of zika infection and 67 cases of chikungunya. The situation warrants that the government should immediately begin collecting information on the incidence of chikungunya and work out an effective management of both the patients and the hospitals. An early diagnosis of the diseases could lessen the burden on the public health system. The government should, therefore, start equipping hospitals with the testing facilities for the diagnosis of the diseases.
The director for hospitals at the Directorate General of Health Services says that hospitals have been instructed to ensure the treatment of all sorts of diseases at a time. But for the efforts to be successful, the government should urgently shore up the management, diagnosis and treatment issues involving the three diseases.
