Anti-dengue activities begin in Patiala

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 16

Amid the surge in Covid cases, the fear of vector-borne diseases is already haunting the Health Department.

To prevent the spread of diseases, the Patiala Health Department today kicked off anti-dengue activities. The health officials, during the “Friday dry day” campaign, detected dengue larvae at six places. It was immediately destroyed by the Health Department.

Urging the resident to take necessary precautions, the Patiala Health Department said the disease could prove fatal if residents showed a lackadaisical attitude towards dengue.

Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Satinder Singh said the dengue season had already arrived. So, they had to start anti-dengue activities as proactive action, said he.

What is ‘Friday dry day’

‘Friday dry day’ is a mass awareness drive against dengue wherein health teams go door to door in the high-risk areas. They instruct city residents to clean all sorts of water containers at least on Friday. Under the drive, health officials challan house owners if dengue larvae are found in their houses.

Awareness drives were being carried out in the district to apprise people of preventive measures, said health officials. “Amid Covid, residents should take precautions against dengue too. People should clean discarded items, including pots, tyres, utensils and other water containers once a week.”

Meanwhile, Dr Sumeet Singh, District Epidemiologist, said community participation was a must to control the dengue spread. “It takes 5-7 days for dengue larvae to breed on clean stagnant water. Therefore, people should clean all water containers at least once a week. If residents do not dry out water at their houses, it will be difficult to curb the breeding of mosquitoes.”

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