While Chennai has been reeling towards the Coronavirus pandemic by witnessing the exponential rise of cases each day amid the containment measures and lockdown to curb the spread, the city has been preparing to combat yet another viral infection -Dengue, as the city is going through the period of witnessing the grounds for this non-contagious disease which carries the similar symptoms that of COVID-19.

According to the reports, the Greater Chennai Corporation has been preparing to tackle the Dengue infection without loosening its grip in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. As the city has recorded a rainfall earlier this week and has been predicted to experience more rains, the civic body has started preparations for preventing Dengue. 

According to the corporation, Chennai would see recording Dengue cases from July and the cases would rise in the period between September and November as the grounds for stagnant water beds in the city in the wake of the rainfall would create a swamp of mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti mosquito which is the vector that transmits the virus into the human body which causes Dengue fever. 

The corporation official said that the spread of dengue in the city may go high this time as most of the people are staying home due to the lockdown. The civic body is preparing to shift some of the Domestic Breeding Check workers, who are currently deputed to spray disinfectant to curb the COVID-19 spread in the city, to their regular work of checking the mosquito breeding. 

These workers would engage and carry out door to door visits to every house and check for the breeding of Aedes mosquito. In order to prevent the spread of Dengue, these workers would be checking for stagnant and open water beds in drums, tanks, vessels, and pipelines and they would spray larvicide to kill larvae of the mosquitoes. The corporation would also issue advisories to people to clear the unnecessary water beds and storages at their residences.

Unlike the deadliest COVID-19 pandemic, Dengue is not new for Chennai as the city has got mechanisms and experience of its spread and how to deal with the viral infection. However, the Dengue spread this year would be of much importance for the city to combat both the infections at the same time. According to the reports, Dengue would show similar symptoms of fever like COVID-19 which would lead to major confusion and challenges in identifying and detecting the exposure at an early stage. 

While both the infections have no clear medical treatments or vaccines to cure, there is a possibility that it may drive the city into more vulnerability in combating the infections. The reports stated that the mortality rate of COVID-19 and Dengue hit patients would go high as these patients who endured both the infections would less likely survive. 

While COVID-19 attacks people with comorbidities, geriatric people, and people with less immunity easily, Dengue would be damaging the immune system by decreasing and weakening the platelet count of the patient. While the RT-PCR test is done for COVID-19, Dengue infection can be detected through ELISA testing. According to the Union Health Ministry, Tamil Nadu has recorded 6,577 cases of Dengue from January to November 2019. 

As far as COVID-19 is concerned, Tamil Nadu has reported 1,02,721 positive cases so far as of Friday of which 42,955 are active - including isolation, 58,378 have been discharged, and 1,321 had succumbed to the virus. Out of 1,02,721 cases, 64,689 cases belong to Chennai.