'Uniform change' to guard against dengue?

With young children falling prey to the dreaded disease, doctors suggest dress code as preventive measure

With the number of dengue cases in the Capital rising to 174 on Thursday as 17 more people tested positive for the disease, parents of schoolgoing children are feeling jittery.

Dr Swarna Devi, a resident of Vasant Kunj whose granddaughter recently recovered from dengue, suggested that all the schools should change the dress code to avoid as much body exposure to mosquitoes as possible.
"Most children in the capital wear skirts and shorts that makes them highly prone to the attack," she said. The Aedes mosquito, the carrier of dengue, is active during the day when most children are at school. The MCD has also directed schools to resort to preventive measures.

According to N K Yadav, Medical Health Officer, MCD: "We have issued guidelines to all schools especially primary schools to keep the school premises and nearby areas free from waterlogging and prevent all chances of mosquito breeding. But we are not asking the schools to change the dress code as of now."

School authorities are finding it difficult to consider a change in student uniforms at this point. V P Tandon, Chairman, Kamal Education Society feels that it is pragmatically not possible to change the dress code. "We are taking all sorts of measures like using mosquito repellent coils and sprays to keep the school premises free of mosquito breeding," he said.

City doctors however feel that changing the dress code should be the first step towards fighting the dreaded disease.

"The government should issue a directive to all schools regarding a change in dress code.u00a0 Kids should be stopped from wearing half pants and skirts in this season. They must cover their bodies as much as they can," said Dr K K Aggarwal, physician, Moolchand Hospital.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES
With dengue tightening its grip on the city, AIIMS has reconstituted the Disease Prevention Response Outbreak Cell (DPROC) to monitor dengue cases. The cell was constituted during dengue outbreak in the the city in 2006. Experts fear that this year there is going to be an increase in dengue cases as the viral infection becomes more virulent every four years.
During the dengue outbreak in 2006, people from across the city, including the NCR region, went to AIIMS for getting tested. "The cell will be responsible for preventing mosquito breeding and managing dengue patients at the institute,'' said a senior AIIMS doctor.