Are outbreaks of Dengue and Chikungunya in Kerala just a garbage issue?

Whenever the state of Kerala reports an outbreak of vector-borne diseases like Dengue and Chikungunya, the media goes on an overdrive and as usual looks for culpable scapegoats. Following public, political, and media pressure, on September 24, 2011, the Kerala chief minister held an emergency meeting and directed waste management measures on a war footing among others.

Here comes my discomfort. It may be because I am ignorant. Vector-borne diseases and contagious diseases are different ball games. What we are witnessing in Kerala is outbreaks of vector-borne diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya, and the state’s total failure to either control, anticipate, or study the issue at hand. Knee-jerk reactions like more doctors in affected areas, urgent waste disposal measures, and local body meetings (a group totally incapable of dealing with the situation) follow suit from various quarters, and for the media this is just an issue to up the TRP ratings.

This is simply not a “Garbage Issue”. This is a serious environmental and entomological issue resulting from deforestation, land use changes, and possible jumping of microbes from forests or animals to human habitations, and population movement.

 

And the most important fact is that the humid and hot climate of Kerala along with the presence of thick vegetation (including plantations and stagnant water (ponds) near households provide the best conditions for the disease causing Aedes mosquitoes to breed. Mosquitoes cannot ask for a much better environment to breed and create havoc than the present situation in Kerala.

Moreover, there are reports and studies saying that “concurrent infections” can occur-this means the mosquito bites can cause both Dengue and Chikungunya. This means that a mosquito and a human being can be infected with more than one disease. This also means that in an ill-equipped medical hospital and clinic what can be the diagnosis, treatement, recording of symptoms.

While garbage and solid waste need to be removed and safely disposed of, this is not a measure that should be taken during vector-borne disease outbreaks. Waste disposal does not become critical when there is a medical emergency or when there is an epidemic like situation. But controlling vector-borne diseaes goes beyond waste disposal as it requires long-term studies and monitoring of existing infectious diseases and vectors and emerging threats. I feel each of these episodes are not the final ones and lack of scientific vision will lead to a big epidemic sooner or later. 

The media does not have the same level of knowledge it has when it comes to reporting political breaking news, backroom intrigues, and cinema. They have no idea about the difference between the terms, contagious diseases and vector-borne diseases. According to one definition:

Contagious means infectious by direct contact, but in common usage the word usually applies to diseases that are highly infectious and dangerous, implying something more serious than a common cold. 

Vector-borne diseases require a pathogen, a vector, and the human host.  Here the pathogen is the virus and the vector is the mosquito.

So, were sitting on a medical volcano and believing that if there is no garbage and household waste, there will no diseases. How naive have we become!

FACTSHEET

Dengue Virus: Dengue is a viral infection caused by Flaviviruses,  a group of viruses that can cause a number of diseases such as Dengue and Hepatitis C in humans. These viruses arev spread by mosquitoes and ticks and can reproduce in their vector.  Click here to know more about the Dengue hemorrhagic fever .

Chikungunya: Chikungunya is caused by Alphaviruses and is spread by mosquitoes. It has the distinction of having jumped from monkeys to humans.

Heavy metal is alive and kickin' real hard

While metal has disappeared from prime time music television, the cyberspace has hundreds of unheard, rare, and new bands rocking real hard. Some of the new bands are pretty good playing a style that critics may say retro. But the songs of some of these new bands are good and much much better than the two-chord alternative stuff that channels bombard you with. The following bands and songs, a mix of new and old, are real gems. 

Talon's All I Ever Needed is a great straight-edged mid tempo/melodic song with good guitar solos and pure vocals from Chandler Mogul. The songs make me feel that I have missed this band. Talon rose from the ashes of Voxen, says Melodic Rock, and invites fans of Dokken (my favourite) and Hericane Alice to lend their ears. Both are very good bands.

Melodic death metal band Evergrey is another great find with powerful melodic songs with classic guitar solos.Click here to listen to A Touch of Blessing. The vocals at times resembled the good old MSG.

I am big fan of Crazy Lixx'z Blame it on Love from their album New Religion. This melodic song has a unique passion and the harmonies perfect like the classic acts that rocked the 80s. One of the best new bands with that hard rock/heavy metal sound that takes the listener 20 years back.

I cannot forget Michael Monroe’s 80s hit, Dead, Jail or Rock n' Roll, a superb butt-kicking metal song from their Not Fakin' It album. Wikipedia says that the song video featured GNR frontman Axl Rose. What a song and what a musician! I remember watching with friends the video featured in Headbangers Ball when VHS tapes ruled the roost and months before I had the luck to listen to Appetite for Destruction. Yes, we missed to spot Axl Rose.

Riot was the most underrated band and had some exceptional power metal and melodic metal songs and albums. Listen to Riot - Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart). What a great song and what a great band.

Finally two great power ballads from Y&T and Great White. Keep rockin'.

First come, first serve?

I did not have any idea about the origins of the phrase, First come, first served, until a mistake in an email I read got me thinking.

The Daily Writing Tips has an excellent article on the history of the popular phrase, which is converted by net-savvy geeks to FCFS. The same geeks create the mistake, first come, first serve. To read the mistaken phrase is definitely irritating at times.

So, first come, first served, and no more first come, first serve.

The horrific "revert back"

Countless emails, often from the big bosses of the corporate world, contains the nauseating mistake "revert back".

"....Revert back to me if you have any questions." This is what I saw a few days back in an email from someone whose name shoots everybody's BP up.

The verb, Revert, here is used in the sense, to go back in thought or discussion. Therefore, revert back is a redundant expression, as the word implies the sense of going 'back". 

So, do not revert back, just revert.