Open House: What steps should be taken by the Health Dept & MC officials to stop breeding of dengue larvae?

check mosquito breeding in city

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With dengue cases rising in the city at a much faster pace as compared to the previous years, it’s time to take this disease seriously. Dengue is a quick spreading vector borne disease which can lead to mortality in severe form. As there is no effective vaccine against it and no specific treatment for the disease, controlling and preventing dengue fever out breaks are essential steps for keeping people healthy. To control the rise and prevalence of dengue infections, it is essential to control mosquito population. Where ever there is water collection, the female Aedes aegypti mosquito can lay its eggs. The Health Department and city residents should work together in curbing the mosquito source population. Public has to be made aware by the department and also through electronic and print media, of their role in prevention of spread of dengue infection. Unnecessary container habitats that collect water in homes, such as, buckets, pots, bottles, etc should be drained. Other measures which can be adopted at homes are to get rid of stagnant water, cover windows and doors with net screens, usage of mosquito repellents, spraying of pesticides in corners of the house etc should be practiced. The Health Department along with the Municipal Corporation also has to keep a check on water collection habitats on roads, ponds, and other areas. Vector control measures such as applying insecticides as space spraying during out breaks may be used by health authorities. Dengue is a preventable disease, if adequate measures are taken to control mosquito population.

Dr KS Manchanda

MC, health dept must realise responsibility

The problem of dengue outbreak is not new for the city residents. The departments concerned routinely issue guidelines to curb the spread of dengue mosquitoes, but unfortunately problem remains the same. Rather than making public aware of the problem, we should make the health and civil body departments aware of their responsibilities in this regard. They pay no attention to the damaged or uneven city roads where rainwater gets accumulated during the monsoon and become a breeding ground for the dengue larvae. They are paying attention to small spots whereas big plots like old sabzi mandi outside Hall Gate measuring about 5 acres of land with lot of heaps of garbage here and there is a fertile spot for breeding of dengue larvae, which escape their attention. No doubt regular fogging is a better solution to control the problem from spreading but the better way is to eradicate it from roots. Hence, the civil body should pay attention to the damaged and uneven city roads and clean areas prone to mosquito breeding.

Naresh Johar

carry out fogging

in the entire city

Aedes aegypti, the dengue causing mosquito, is also known to be a carrier of Zika virus that can cause paralysis and birth defects in babies born to mothers infected by it during pregnancy. It breeds wherever it finds stagnant water including containers, bottle caps and potholed roads filled with sewage too. Amritsar is a veritable breeding ground for these considering its poor road, sewage and sanitary infrastructure. The littered, potholed roads filled with rain water and sewage throughout the year offer a veritable breeding ground to the aedes mosquito. These should be cleaned and repaired at the earliest. Every nook and cranny of the city should be duly fogged and sanitised, while water should not be allowed to stagnate in any area including inside the houses. People should be encouraged to use mosquito repellents and mosquito nets besides covering their windows with net screens. The district health authorities and the Municipal Corporation should hold awareness drives in this regard through TV, social media, personalised phone calls, ringtones and dedicated helplines, besides ‘Nukkad Nataks’. Natural mosquito repellants as tulsi should be grown inside the houses and on vacant public land.

Shaheen P Parshad

Raise awareness among people

The civic body officials should first of all get fogging done at different areas of the city for killing of mosquitoes. Secondly, where there is an accumulation of water in public places it should be done away with on top priority basis. Awareness must be created amongst the public through local news channel, advertisements in newspapers and banners at various places guiding general public how to prevent spreading of dengue by taking cautious steps around your environment.

SANJAY CHAWLA

Don’t confuse it with common flu or Covid

Mosquitoes carry some of the most fatal pathogens and parasites, which have been bugging humanity for eons. Around 700 million contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year some of which are malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. However the disease which needs to be addressed in the city is dengue. With over 100 cases in the city and many more on the rise it’s essential to deal with the problem immediately. I think the first step would be to counter the threat at sight, how do u get rid of weeds? By pulling the roots so we attack the root of the problem. Dengue larvae needs to be destroyed on sight, might sound harsh but isn’t that what survival is about. Authorities as well the public need to make sure if they spot dengue larvae they destroy it on sight. Stagnant water should be drained as soon as it’s detected. People need to make known of the symptoms of the disease so they don’t confuse it with common flu or Covid. This conundrum can easily be averted but with joint efforts of both administration and the public.

Gurjas Singh

Start fogging with the advent of monsoon

Amritsar witnessed sharp rise in dengue cases due to lack of preparedness on the part of the Municipal Corporation (MC) and health authorities. Despite the early warning and full-fledged malaria wing at its disposal, no fogging and spray work was undertaken in vulnerable habitats to check dengue spread especially after onset of rainy season. Most of the areas were left un-attended even after reporting of dengue cases citing manpower shortage leading to spread of deadly disease. Both the MC and nodal district malaria officer should work in tandem to deal with dengue menace by earmarking zone/ward wise work operations to avoid overlapping. Procure more fogging and spray machines at present in limited numbers to deal with rise in cases. Rope in private players to undertake house to house survey and awareness campaign by distributing pamphlets citing steps to check larvae formation in and around of residential areas. Outsource the fogging work on contractual basis at the beginning of monsoon. The government and private hospitals be advised to report dengue cases immediately to concerned health authorities to check breeding source to save others from being infected with deadly disease. Impose fines and issue challans to errant residents who failed to follow the guidelines in taking preventive measures.

Anil Vinayak

Regular checks must be conducted by MC

The outbreak of dengue and its other vector-borne diseases has become an annual ritual that wreaks havoc on many precious lives. But it is a wrong notion to indict the mosquitoes alone. Actually the real culprits are us the human beings who generate tons of garbage, allow it to accumulate and lie dumped in the open letting it become the breeding ground of mosquitoes. It becomes imperative on the part of Health Department and civic body officials to take preventive measures to stop breeding of dengue larvae and to raise awareness among the public to stop the number of dengue cases from rising. The combined impact of dengue and Covid-19 can potentially result in devastating consequences for the city residents. So the authorities concerned should know that dengue prevention and control depends upon effective vector control measures and sustained community involvement which can improve vector control efforts substantially. Hence, frequent fogging in streets, markets and localities should be conducted. Stress should be laid on cleanliness. A well-meaning campaign should be started to educate the public about the perils of mosquito borne dengue. Active mosquito and vector surveillance should be carried out to determine the effectiveness of control interventions. Besides prevalence of virus in the mosquito population should be prospectively monitored along with active screening of sentinel mosquito collections. If mosquitoes are stopped from breeding, the cases of dengue will diminish to a large extent but it is regrettable that despite the all out efforts of the Health Department, the cases of dengue are on the increase in the city. Therefore, every household should be made aware that stagnant water in ponds, coolers, ditches, unused drums, flower pots, overhead tanks and containers provides an ideal breeding ground for aides and anopheles mosquitoes which spread dengue. Civic body officials need unstinting support and cooperation from the public to fulfil their responsibility of eradicating the dengue larvae. On personal level, people should get rid of stagnant water, should cover their windows and doors with net screens, should spray pesticides in the corners, and use camphor as a mosquito repellent to help stop the spread of dengue.

Tarsem S Bumrah

Improve services

to prevent dengue

The state of public health of a city is dependent on the priority it draws from the political authority and the budgetary provisions for it. But it has an interface with some other municipal departments as well. For example, in spite of the best efforts of doctors and the paramedical staff who are busy in treating critically ill patients of dengue, typhoid, hepatitis, malaria etc. and providing required surgical services, they are helpless in preventing them. Long unoccupied and dilapidated houses and unconstructed ‘Kholas‘ in the city, unattended parks with overgrown grass and shrubs, become a habitat for mosquitoes and rats. Again, covered galleries allowed in narrow streets, say 10-ft wide, make them dark, and long ramps on each side obstruct water dripping from ACs to flow, again an attraction for mosquitoes. Public latrines always have stagnant water around them. But flooding of low lying areas after a downpour leaves that water stagnating for weeks, thus triggering a spurt in dengue cases. Just like Covid-19, it is also a viral disease, with high fever, painful eyes, body aches, lingering weakness etc but in most cases, it goes after a mild increase in body temperature. Hospitalisation is usually not required and there are hardly any fatalities. Unlike Covid, it is not transmitted from person to person directly, but needs a carrier, like mosquito, that transfers it from the infected person to others. The best antidote against seasonal spurts of dengue is neat and clean localities with adequate drainage and not dug up streets for laying pipe lines left to accumulate rain water and generate Dengue as it happened in areas outside Sultanwind Gate. Thus, by and large, deficiency in municipal services is the root cause. Fogging/spraying the whole city is a challenging task, which I think had better be carried out during the night for more speed and efficacy. The citizens should not panic but avoid water stagnating anywhere in the house and keep their arms and legs protected.

Prof Mohan Singh

Change Water kept for birds daily

• Dengue can be fatal as it decreases platelet count in blood. As of now no vaccine is available to treat dengue. We have to be extra cautious to stop breeding of mosquitoes. Cleaning house from junk is the first and basic step to stop breeding of mosquitoes. Clean pots and coolers from time to time.
• Water kept for birds should be changed daily. Use insecticides, spray in dark corners, under the bed and sofa, behind the curtains and burn repellents. Open windows to allow sunshine in the house. Wear full sleeves shirt and full pants.
• Media coverage and debate should be held to create awareness. Prevention is better than cure so don’t rely on government and take all precautions. Stop eating junk food, eat citrus foods in more quantity and use garlic, which helps in building strong immunity. Shashi Kiran

QUESTION

Are transfers/postings of police commissioners/IAS officers after the change at the helm of affairs in a state justified? How does it affect their functioning?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (September 30)