Jalandhar, July 1
The Health Department initiated a drive under the National Vector Borne Water Borne Disease Control Programme here on Friday. Under the drive, Civil Surgeon Dr Raman Sharma visited various areas, deemed hotpots or places susceptible to thriving of dengue larvae. Dengue awareness month is being observed to spread awareness among people during monsoon.
On the first day of the campaign on Friday, dengue larvae were found at seven places in the district. Under the Friday dry day drive in the district, various areas were visited by health teams to check breeding of dengue larvae.
Though the district at present has 10 confirmed dengue cases so far, various drives have been initiated to check the spread of the disease during monsoon. Intensive larvae checking and larvicide spraying drives are being carried out in the district.
A team led by Epidemiologist Dr Aditya Paul visited areas such as Aman Nagar, Jaswant Nagar, Bhargo Camp, ESI Hospital, Old Baradari and others. Dr Singh said Aedes aegypti is an indoor mosquito that causes dengue. “We keep ornamental plants, flowerpots inside the rooms and often keep bamboo for decoration purposes and never drain water. We have to break the cycle of nutrition to the larvae, so, for this, one should scrap the pot properly and clean it with a wired brush. Only draining water is not enough,” Dr Paul said.
The teams visited various areas of the city and visited 142 homes, checked 43 coolers, 242 scrap containers, eight tyres and also sprayed larvicides.
Of the seven places from where dengue larvae were found, three were in Aman Nagar and four in Jaswant Nagar. Most of these larvae were found in coolers or buckets.
Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, the Civil Surgeon said: “After rain, a seven-day gap is crucial to check breeding of dengue larvae. Our teams are telling all residents to not allow water to stagnate near their surroundings. Teams are also visiting last year’s hotspots and schools everyday to sensitise people and students. Our prime motive is to ensure that any possible dengue larvae breeding point is destroyed immediately so that there is no outbreak.”
He said: “During monsoon, mainly two types of diseases spread on a large scale. The first type includes water-borne and the other is mosquito-borne diseases. Water-borne diseases include cholera, jaundice, typhoid and diarrhoea among others. While for the prevention of such diseases, it was imperative that the surroundings are kept clean and people exercise precautions against these diseases.”
Symptoms
The symptoms of the disease include high grade fever above 102°F, headache, pain in eyes, general body pains, vomiting, skin rashes, which must be monitored for seven to 10 days by medical experts
Dos
- Always keep overhead tanks properly covered
- Drain out water from coolers and scrub these dry once a week
- In case of fever, get your blood examined at the earliest
- Take full treatment if infected
Don’ts
- Do not allow water to stagnate in and around your house
- Do not throw discarded containers, tyres, pitchers and pots on the rooftop
