Health Dept ropes in schoolchildren to prevent spread of vector-borne diseases

The Health Department has decided to involve students in the campaign to prevent and control the spread of vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue and chikungunya. A special initiative ‘Little Champions Campaign’ has been launched by the department, under which schools from where no case of vector-borne diseases are reported will be awarded by the Health Department.

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Civil Surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur said teams of the mass media wing of the Health Department were visiting schools and imparting knowledge to teachers and children about the symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment of dengue and other vector-borne diseases.

Barjinder Singh Brar, District BCC co-ordinator of the mass media wing, said teachers and students were being made aware of ways to prevent water from accumulating anywhere within the school premises. They were also being told about minting cleanliness in schools and homes and prevention of the growth of mosquito larvae. “The aim of this campaign is that school children themselves should be aware about these diseases and also make their parents, neighbours and relatives aware,” he said.

Apart from this, a special subject imparting knowledge about these diseases will be included in the children’s extra-curricular activities like drawing, question and answer competitions, exhibitions, street plays and school work during summer vacations, it is being reported. Heads of the schools from where no cases are reported during the dengue season will also be honoured, said Brar.

Health teams are already training students of various nursing colleges of the district about these diseases. The students are being made aware about dengue and how it spreads. “Dengue is a fever that is caused by the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito. Common symptoms of include severe headache, high fever, pain in muscles and joints, pain behind the eyes, bleeding from the nose, mouth and gums in case of worsening condition, nausea and vomiting etc,” said Rajinder Singh from the mass media wing.

Dengue-carrying mosquitoes breed in standing water such as coolers, water tanks, flower pots, trays behind refrigerators, broken/abandoned utensils, empty tires/boxes, water drums etc. The only way to prevent dengue fever is to not allow water to accumulate anywhere because dengue-carrying mosquito breeds in clean, stagnant water.