SYMA propagates 'Dengue Awareness' and prevention

There are some names which are associated with bad things and ‘Aedes’ is perhaps one – derived out of  Greek aēdēs, meaning "unpleasant" or "odious".  Sure you have heard and read lot about blood – the red coloured body fluid which supplies oxygen to tissues, supplies nutrients, removes wastes and is the most integral thing in life.  The blood cells are suspended in a liquid called blood plasma. Plasma, which constitutes 55% of blood fluid, is mostly water (92% by volume.  Blood consists of  red blood cells  and white blood cells, including leukocytes and platelets.  Blood loss in any form can cause serious damage – blood comes out often from injures but by a special function it clots also.   Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms clots. It is an important part of hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, wherein a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of the damaged vessel. Disorders of coagulation can lead to an increased risk of bleeding (hemorrhage) or obstructive clotting (thrombosis). Most of the time this includes the changing of blood from a fluid to a solid state.

You might be surprised to know that this this function [of coagulation] could be challenged by a tiny miniscule insect !! – a rigorous test in to root cause of ailment is  ‘Immunoglobulin’  test which  measures the level of certain immunoglobulin, or antibodies, in the blood.  Infections do manifest immunodeficiency helping the Doctors to diagnose the illness and treat the patient accordingly.  Platelets are small, regularly shaped clear cell fragments.   The average lifespan of a platelet is normally just 5 to 9 days. Platelets are a natural source of growth factors. They circulate in the blood and are involved in hemostasis, leading to the formation of blood clots.  If the number of platelets is too low, excessive bleeding can occur.

There are reports of prevalence of Dengue fever in the city and that everyday some children are getting admitted into hospitals with signs of dengue.  A real cause for concern indeed.   Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands  and rash.  Dengue (pronounced DENG-gay) strikes people with low levels of immunity.

After being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, the incubation period ranges from three to 15 (usually five to eight) days before the signs and symptoms of dengue appear. Dengue starts with chills, headache, pain upon moving the eyes, and low backache. Painful aching in the legs and joints occurs during the first hours of illness. The temperature rises quickly as high as 104 F (40 C), with relative low heart rate and low blood pressure. A flushing or pale pink rash comes over the face and then disappears. The glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and groin are often swollen.  All are some of these could be pronounced in those affected.

Aedes is a genus of mosquito originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents excluding Antarctica.  First described and named by Meigen in 1818, the name comes from the Ancient Greek aēdēs, meaning "unpleasant" or "odious". Some species of this genus transmit serious diseases, including dengue fever and yellow fever.To be free of Dengue and to get rid of Aedes mosquito, one must keep the surroundings clean with no stagnation of water and cleanse out all possible  breeding ground for mosquitoes.  Mosquito is from the Spanish word for little fly – these small insects go through four stages in their life-cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult or imago. Adult females lay their eggs in standing water, which can be a salt-marsh, a lake, a puddle, a natural reservoir on a plant, or an artificial water container such as a plastic bucket.

Prevalence of ‘dengue fever’ is widely reported in Chennai city and the Government is actively taking measures to curb this menace.  People must be made aware of the ‘dengue fever’ and its prevention by keeping surrounding free of water stagnation.  With the aim of propagating this among the common public, Srinivas YoungMen’s Association [SYMA] coordinating with Chennai Corporation – Public Health Department and local Councillor of Ward 116 Mr B Srinivasan @ MGR Vasan,  today organized an ‘Awareness rally’ in Triplicane.

With music from the band catching the attention and a propaganda vehicle blaring out message creating awareness of ‘dengue, its symptoms and the ways of prevention’ the rally in which large no. of school students participated, started from Barathiyar Illam.  It was flagged by Zonal Chairman – Mr Sakthi, at 07.30 am.  Mr.  B Srinivasan @ MGR Vasan, Ward Councillor;  Dr REvathi, Rosaline, Zonal Health Offier, ZoneIX; Mr R Venkatesh, Sanitary Inspector; Mr KA Jaffar Sadiq, Basic Health Worker and a host of SYMA office bearers including TA Sampathkumar, President; S. Sampathkumar & R. Sanjeevi, Secretaries; Mr Durai @ R Seshadry- Vice President; TJ Ramani & D Sudarshan – Treasurers; Sadagopan MA, SR Parthasarathi, Mrs Shobhana Narasimhan, Mrs Uthra Sarang – participated in the rally.

The rally wound through the streets of Triplicane, creating awareness about the disease, its symptoms and what needs to be done by the public to keep their area free of dengue.  The participants distributed pamphlets urging general public: -

1.       Not to allow water to stagnate in their surrounding

2.       To ensure  that overhead tanks are kept clean and capped

3.       To dispose off coconut shells; old tyres etc., and to take special care that water does not get collected in open unused things – where mosquitoes can breed

They spoke to the residents on the possible symptoms like – fever accompanied by bouts of cold; continuous headache, pain – aching of body; pale pink rashes on the skin and the like.   At a time, when dengue is prevalent, those having fever should not treat themselves or buy drugs from medical shops – but must go to Government Hospitals and qualified Medical professionals and have themselves properly treated.

The propaganda material had been beautifully made by Mr Vittal Narayanan.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar.

Once there were jokes aplenty about mosquitoes of Mambalam – now the uniqueness is gone – mosquitoes are found everywhere; some jocularly said that they cannot fly high and cannot reach the top floors of multi-storeyed apartments- far away from truth though !!!