While the rest of the world is focused on Swine flu and India is just recording the first of its confirmed cases, places like Bangalore have another virus that is doing the rounds. Like in pervious years this virus too has the potential to reach pandemic proportions and yet, few, least of all the government are talking about it. Chikungunya is spread through mosquitoes, results in high fever and severe joint pain.

While I hear of more and more cases occurring in my neighborhood, the word is out that the entire locality, which comprises of about 10,000 people, is affected. Yet, I see no spraying, no awareness leaflets, no awareness campaign in the newspapers and the monsoon season in Bangalore has only just begun. Some articles in the media report some 4000 cases but that would be a gross underestimation and statistics of those who report to the local health centre only. But loads of people I know don’t even go to the health centre, many of them take Ayurvedic medicine that can be self prescribed and so an allopathic doctor would not even know of these cases.

Sad scenario I should say. Bangalore keeps getting projected as the IT capital of the country, home to all the major IT MNCs in the country and yet the facilities and services are archaic. If the Government cannot guarantee a descent standard of living in its capital city how does it hope to do so for the rest of the State?

Chikungunya is not new, each monsoon season there is an outbreak, should the Government then not have had a well oiled protocol in place, and yet there is no sign of it.