Chandigarh All Set To Fight Dengue This Monsoon Season

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The season of monsoon comes with both happiness and dengue. The spread of the disease is based on the hygiene one maintains around his/her surroundings. Around 10 cases of dengue (caused by Aedes mosquito) have been reported from the Tricity (Chandigarh, Punjab & Haryana) till 2 August.

Mosquitoes breed mostly in stagnant water mainly during the rainy season. In a report produced by the UT Health department, the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes were found in around 4710 places which include coolers, households, and overhead tanks.

As per the report, mosquito larvae check was conducted in around 167400 households out of which 1657 houses have been detected with the same. Also, around 49070 coolers were inspected and 2216 were found with the larvae.

A senior officer in the UT Health department (malaria wing) told media that mosquitoes are active especially in August and September and it is important for people to start taking necessary precautions to avoid it.

If we talk about Chandigarh, in the year 2017, the state was reported with the highest dengue cases (1594). For the year 2018, the report shows 301 cases of this deadly disease.

What's New

The UT Health department has claimed to adopt a new strategy to tackle dengue this year by surveying, spraying and fogging. As of now, only Temephos granules are used to treat the larvae in stagnant water. To include, Temephos granule is a larvicide used to treat water infested with mosquitoes or other disease-carrying insects' larvae.
A senior officer from the UT department said, "We have a new strategy for 2019: First survey; then spray, and then fogging if required. The progress of all units is being monitored every day. All team leaders report to the headquarters daily. Also, the Regional Office of Health & Family Welfare has joined hands with Malaria Wing of UT for a joint entomological survey".

The officer included that they conducted a drive in which they destroyed several other mosquito breeding grounds like tyres and open containers. Out of 16089 tyres, 206 were detected while out of 1.69 lakh containers, 622 were found with the larvae. This shows that Chandigarh is in full gear to remove dengue from the city. Also, several institutions like hostels, private offices, schools, 19 government offices, colleges, and 10 religious places have been issued a notice by the UT health department when they found larvae on their premises during the check.

Progress Of New Strategy

In around 285 open areas and 288 indoor areas, hand-held fogging machines were used to prevent the spread of mosquitoes. On the other hand, in around 211 areas including slums, sectors, and colonies, the vehicle-mounted machine was used for fogging. The UT official said that from this month, the process will start in urban areas as well. Around 13627 water bodies were also treated in the process.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.