National Campaign titled U & Me Against Dengue launched

A multi-pronged National campaign on Dengue, U & Me Against Dengue, was launched on 11 March 2014 to eradicate dengue across six Indian cities with public private partnership. The campaign is joint initiative of Mortein (pest control brand) in association with All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Medical Association (IMA), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Rotary Blood Bank and NGO SAHAYOG.

The campaign will be started in phases across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad to combat the spread of the mosquito-borne viral infection. It is a two month long campaign with focus on fumigation, neem plantation and cleanliness drives.

The organizers have also launched a dedicated website and a 24x7 toll-free dengue helpline - 1800-200-0801. The helpline give the information pertaining to symptoms and necessary measures to prevention.

At present it is estimated there are over 400 million cases of dengue and each year the claims the disease claims over 100 million lives across the world.

The other countries have launched similar national campaign to promote awareness on the dengue situation, inspire action to prevent dengue, and encourage advocacy through social media and word of mouth. Singapore launched the campaign in 2013 and the Fijian government in March 2014.

About dengue
Dengue (break bone fever) is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue (haemorrhagic fever).

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito genus Aedes and not transmitted directly from person-to-person. The symptoms are mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash.