The regional summit on dengue control has begun in Paradise Island Resort. 10 countries from the region are taking part in the meeting, organized by WHO.
Speaking about the meeting, Dr. Jamsheed said dengue was the fastest spreading mosquito borne disease. He said dengue cases were being reported from countries and regions without any history of the disease. He added that the meeting will compile an action plan on controlling dengue.
Dr. Jamsheed said reported dengue cases had increased by 30 times over the past 50 years, noting the cost associated with controlling dengue was expensive.
Dr. Jamsheed said the first two days of the meeting will be focused on finalizing the draft submitted to the meeting. The dengue task force meetings will be held in the next two days. The task force will research on dengue control case studies and deliberate on measures that can be implemented. The task force will present their findings to WHO and other nations.
He said many successful measures had been implement over the years to combat dengue and that for the first time a vaccine against dengue had been registered.
Dr. Jamsheed stressed that individual participation was necessary in cleaning mosquito breeding grounds and as a result controlling dengue.
Regional summit on dengue control begins
