Nine Ministry of Health hospitals have been put on alert ahead of an expected rise in dengue fever cases, with Jeddah Health Affairs saying that “all the right conditions are in place” for mosquitoes to proliferate.
The move also follows a significant rise in the number of suspected cases since the Jeddah floods of two weeks ago.
According to Health Affairs chief Sami Badawoud, all hospitals have been supplied with testing equipment for dengue fever and samples are sent as a matter of urgency to the regional laboratory for analysis.
“Emergency departments at all the ministry’s hospitals are obliged to admit cases of dengue, whether the patients are Saudis or foreigners, and conduct all the necessary examinations and offer treatment on the spot,” Badawoud said. “If the patient is a foreigner and is required to remain in hospital then it depends on the person’s sponsor.
If the sponsor is an individual then the patient is covered, and if the sponsor is a company or an organization or in the private sector then they are obliged to admit their employee to hospital through the insurance company with which the organization is contracted.”
Badawoud said that “all environment and climatic indications point toward a probable rise in the number of dengue cases”.
“All the right conditions for it are in place after the rains, including warm temperatures, a moist atmosphere, and a build-up of areas of stagnant water,” he said.
He called upon the public to take proper precautionary measures at home to prevent exposure to dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
“People should put nets over the windows and use mosquito nets, and keep well away from sites that attract mosquitoes, particularly before sunrise,” Badawoud said. “Parents should warn their children to stay away from mosquitoes, and keep any water stored at home properly covered and sealed.”
‘Ideal’ areas Sources have said, meanwhile, that over 100 large pools of stagnant water left by last week’s heavy rains are still present in residential areas of Jeddah, forming “ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes”.
Local residents say that the build-ups of water and the proliferation of garbage lying exposed in streets and districts are becoming an increasing concern for the population of much of the city.
“People particularly in East Jeddah are upset that these areas of water are still there, lying in the street or right in front of their houses,” said Muhammad Al-Asmari. “It’s causing damage to road surfaces and helping mosquitoes to breed.
The situation needs to be tackled as soon as possible, the water needs to be cleared, and the mosquitoes need to be killed off before we end up with another disaster.”
Hamid Al-Salami says that overflowing sewers are polluting rainwater in most streets and that water storage tanks which supply drinking water for many homes in the more down-market districts of Jeddah are becoming contaminated.
“The authorities should act as quickly as possible to remove water and waste from those areas,” he said.
Saudi Gazette reported Tuesday warnings from Health Affairs of a proliferation of pools of stagnant water and the approaching end of the mosquito egg incubation period, while environmental specialists also warned that mosquitoes can acquire immunity to pesticide sprays if they are not periodically changed.
Spraying might kill off most mosquitoes, they said, but it is ineffective against mosquito eggs that lodge in the upper layer of water or in mud.