IMA supports insurance for death due to mosquito bite

Recommends an all-encompassing effort from the community as a whole to address this issue

New Delhi, May 15, 2017 : According to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 79 cases of chikungunya and 24 cases of dengue have been reported in Delhi just three months since 1 January 2017. Of these, 11 patients acquired the infection from neighboring states. It is a fact that we have collectively failed last year in controlling the mosquito menace and consequently, the mosquito menace is back this year.

There is a need to over report and act in time and not only when the cases start appearing. Failure to act can be attributed collectively to Municipal Corporation, Delhi Government, Central Government, LG office, Medical Associations, CSR departments, Media, NGOs, and the private sector. It is time that last year’s failure is converted into success this year.

Speaking on this issue, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, National President Indian Medical Association (IMA) and President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and Dr RN Tandon – Honorary Secretary General IMA in a joint statement, said “The mosquito menace requires a community approach which involves every component of the society. Every premise must display that it is mosquito-free. When you are invited to somebody’s place, you should ask ‘I hope your premises are mosquito-free’ and when you invite somebody, write ‘Welcome to my house and it is mosquito-free. This should become a routine in a premises. Just like we do not clean our premises once in a week, it is important to look for and clean the breeding places daily.”

The fact that mosquito bites are a serious issue has been reiterated via a recent judgement by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which ruled that the wife of a man who died due to a mosquito bite was eligible for claiming insurance. The commission ruled that ‘It can hardly be disputed that a mosquito bite is something which no one expects and which happens all of a sudden without any act of omission on part of the victim’.  It further said that death caused by mosquito bite is an accident, and directed the insurer to honor its policy to the widow.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, said, “The need of the hour is a paradigm shift in the approach towards the dengue menace. We need to follow the formula of 20 to identify dengue fever:  if there is a rise in pulse by 20; there is fall in upper blood pressure by 20; if there is a rise in hematocrit by 20%; there is a rapid fall in platelets to less than 20,000 with a rapid rise in hematocrit by 20%; if there is a petechial count of more than 20 in one inch after tourniquet test and a difference of less than 20 between the upper and lower blood pressure, then such patients should be given at least 20 ml of fluid per kg immediately followed by continuous fluids till they pass urine. This is one of the most immediate steps to combat the condition.”

IMA recommends the following approach to target the mosquito menace:

Ghar ke ander maro aur ghar ke bahar maro; din me maro, sham me maro aur raat me maro; deewaron ke niche maro aur deewaron ke upar maro; chote pani ki collection me aur bade pani ke collection me maro; eggs ko maro, larve ko maro, pupa ko maro aur mosquito ko maro; chath me maro, kamre me maro, veranda me maro; container me pani ke niche maro aur container me pani ke upar maro, aedes ko maro, culex ko maro aur anopheles ko maro.