by DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Since the United Arab Emirates saw its heaviest rain on record three months ago, the desert nation has issued multiple warnings about dengue that has risen and, according to activists, most difficult among the vast population. workers.
A global spike has been seen in the tropical disease, which is spread by mosquitos. The World Health Organization declared it an emergency in December as cases worldwide have increased tenfold in the past generation.
Many people infected with the virus are asymptomatic, but some have headache, fever and flu-like symptoms. Severe cases can lead to severe bleeding, shock and death.
In the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, the disease is usually spread due to travel on long-distance carriers into the country. However, on April 25, the Department of Health warned that locally transmitted cases without a documented travel history are expected from 2023 “as a result of climate change and an environment conducive to mosquito breeding.”
Due to changes in weather patterns, countries that were previously inhospitable to Dengue-carrying mosquitoes become potential habitats.
April’s floods, which flooded parts of major highways and Dubai’s international airport, only increased the risk in the Gulf country. Although a vacuum pump came out quickly on highways, others remained stuck for weeks in stagnant pools of water, where mosquitos that carry a virus lay their eggs and spread the disease.
No official figures were shared in the Emirates where broad laws severely restrict freedom of expression and almost all local media are state-owned or state-affiliated outlets. Inquiries sent to various government organizations about the exact number of confirmed dengue cases went unanswered.
The WHO also declined to discuss the situation in the UAE when reached by The Associated Press. However, the UN health agency noted in its May 30 report that dengue outbreaks continued in Mideast “countries with stronger health care systems that have been affected by unusual rainfall due to climate change.” He added: “Timely sharing of data remains a challenge for other countries in the region for reasons such as the potential impact on tourism, the economy and other sectors.”
Meanwhile, public awareness campaigns across the sheikdom on the importance of cleaning stagnant water and warnings about dengue, also known as broken bone fever, have been widely covered in the state media.
Still, activists stressed that working communities are bearing the brunt of the disease.
According to a report released by FairSquare, the slow clean-up of flooded areas in industrial sites has exacerbated the spread of disease among workers, some of whom have already left their home countries affected by climate change. leave yourself to earn money in the UAE. a London-based group focused on labor rights in the Arab Gulf states.
The July 4 report detailed a surge in dengue cases among migrant worker communities across the Emirates, citing three health care workers, government officials, and migrant workers. The group attributed the rise in cases to the government’s weak response to the spread of the viral infection in areas where migrant workers live and work.
James Lynch, co-director of FairSquare who was once banned from entering the UAE while at Amnesty International, told the AP that “the most important thing here is the disproportionate impact” of how the virus appears to spread primarily among workers. “What you want to see is a balanced approach to dealing with a cleanup and that doesn’t seem to be the case here.”
No specific figures were shared in the report which quoted a nurse, who works in a private clinic in the city of Sharjah, as saying that they receive more than 30 cases every four to five days, describing the rise in cases as “alarming”.
The UAE’s total population of more than 9.2 million is only 10% Emirati, with millions of low-wage workers from Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
“I call this a double whammy of climate change for this very vulnerable population,” said Barrak Alahmad, a research fellow at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. “I see these migrant workers as being on the front lines of dealing with the effects of climate change and health.”
The effect of the virus also resonated in Iran.
The Islamic Republic relies on Dubai as a major transit point to the rest of the world because of the international sanctions it faces over its nuclear program and tensions with the West.
On July 9, Shahnam Arshi, an official of Iran’s health ministry, said that 149 people were infected with dengue, 130 were infected in the UAE and Hossein Farshidi, deputy health minister, said that the first infected person entered Iran on May 15 , after the flood. in the Emirates.
Farshidi, in his latest comments on July 23, said the number of infected people in the country had risen to 152, without giving further details.
This year, Iran also reported its first locally transmitted cases of dengue, saying the number rose to 12 in July, all located in the port of Bandar Lengeh, south of Iran.
Earlier this year, Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro declared a public health emergency due to mosquito-borne dengue fever, and in July, US officials warned doctors to remain vigilant as the tropical disease broke international records.
“Every year, we will see new places and different local governments struggling with dengue or other issues related to climate change,” said Alahmad, the research fellow. “It’s an ever-growing issue. I don’t know if we have an easy solution to this.”
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Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report.
