Hyderabad doctor’s novel dengue awareness drive

Senior pediatrician from Hyderabad, Dr Sivaranjani Santosh, stitched together video clips of her colleagues, who were enlisted from other Indian States, urging general public to take basic precautions to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes

Hyderabad: In a novel approach to routine advisories issued by public health departments against dengue and chikungunya, a doctor from Hyderabad chose a unique route to spread awareness about vector-control measures.

Senior pediatrician from Hyderabad, Dr Sivaranjani Santosh, stitched together video clips of her colleagues, who were enlisted from other Indian States, urging general public to take basic precautions to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.

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In the short clips, the doctors conveyed the message ‘No Water Puddles, No Dengue Troubles’ in their respective local languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam.

The video clip has arrived at an opportune time, coinciding with Hyderabad’s transition from summer to monsoon. With thunderstorms already active in Hyderabad and districts for the past week, small clips of videos have started to get shared enthusiastically across multiple social media platforms.

Last year, when dengue and chikungunya were at their peak, the pediatrician also managed to convince star actor Nani to participate in an interview. The unique aspect of that interview was that Nani became the interviewer and posed various kinds of questions on dengue to Dr Sivaranjani.

“The video carries a single and yet simple message: ‘No Water puddles, No Dengue Troubles’ in various Indian languages. Instead of leaving the job of spreading awareness about seasonal diseases solely to the Public Health Department, I believe that every individual doctor must attempt to highlight preventive and precautionary aspects of seasonal ailments,” Dr Sivaranjani said.

The noted pediatrician has urged general public to take basic precautions such as observing a dry day once a week and frequently checking for stagnant water in places like flower pots, air-coolers, etc, to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds.

“Both dengue and chikungunya are caused by the same mosquito. Every individual and family must strive to take this basic precaution to avoid a surge in these vector-borne diseases, as was the case last year in Telangana State,” Dr Sivaranjani added.