New dengue cases 'linked to climate change'
The pattern of dengue fever this year was "abnormal" as the disease had spread to areas that had little record of dengue mosquitoes, a senior doctor from the Public Health Ministry said.
While Dr Kamnuan Ungchusak, director-general of the Department of Epidemiology, said he was yet to find the true cause of the pattern, scientists thought it might be connected to rising global temperatures. Kamnuan said yesterday that statistics this year showed that the Northern provinces, particularly Chiang Rai, had been hard hit by dengue fever. He said the phenomenon was "abnormal" as the dengue virus did not usually spread to the higher mountainous regions. The virus is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Kamnuan said the Health Ministry had already assigned its regional disease control bureau to eliminate dengue mosquitoes by spraying in risk areas and removing containers that might contain mosquito larvae. Kampol Rujivitch, a lecturer at Thammasat University's Faculty of Allied Health Science, said he believed rising temperatures could accelerate the life cycle of mosquitoes, cause the hatching period to arrive earlier, and enable the mosquitoes to reach higher elevations. "We can't prove this 100 per cent, but in theory it is possible," he said. Anond Snidvongs na Ayutthaya, of Chulalongkorn University, agreed with Kampol. Anond, who has monitored weather and climate patterns of Thailand for more than a decade, said it was likely that the areas covered by dengue fever correlated with this year's weather patterns. "High temperatures in the dry season and the earlier arrival of the rainy season is good for mosquitoes to lay eggs and hatch," he said. Anond urged the Public Health Ministry to study the true cause of the "abnormal" spread and establish better surveillance and control. "If it is proved that the spread of dengue fever is due to the impact of global warming, we can't fight it with traditional measures," he said, referring to the preventive approach and mosquito control spraying by the Health Ministry. Kamnuan admitted the ministry has received some observations from scientists about the correlation between global warming and the spread of the virus. However, he said ministry personnel, including himself, were not keen on studying the issue of climate change and its impact. "We just respond to the problem," he said.
Pennapa Hongthong The Nation
|
