Mosquito breeding in 2,293 households till April 7

Breeding of mosquitoes has been reported in nearly 2,293 households in the national Capital this year till April 7, according to the civic bodies, which are grappling with rising number of cases of the vector-borne diseases. Among the areas falling under the three municipal corporations, the cases of breeding reported were - NMC (247), SDMC (1968) and EDMC (78).

MCDs have issued, 3877 legal notices to various people and establishments after mosquitogenic conditions were found in their houses or premises. At least 167 prosecutions have also been launched after breeding were found, the report said.

During the corresponding period last year, breeding was recorded at 3,154 households. In Delhi, dengue seems to be stinging the hardest, with at least 25 cases recorded while chikungunya has affected three people, and malaria four. According to municipal health officials, domestic breeding of mosquitoes is one of the main factors responsible for people contracting these vector-borne diseases. “Water coolers, storage utensils, bird and dog-feeders left in the rain, are known to be typical places where Aedes mosquito breeds. Most of the breeding detected in these waste products left in open by our 'Dengue Breeding Checkers', the official said.

However, concerned over sporadic reports of dengue and chikungunya at the beginning of this year has prompted the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to issue an advisory on prevention and control of vector-borne diseases in Delhi. Commissioner Dr P K Goel has called for prevention of mosquito breeding by source and made it clear that the reduction is the only effective tool for prevention and control of these diseases.

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has also directed all the civic agencies to take effective steps to prevent such diseases on Friday. The L-G direction came in a meeting chaired on Friday to discuss the dengue, chikungunya and malaria and seasonal influenza (H1NI1) in the national capital.

He also directed the health department and other agencies to be prepared in terms of logistics for dengue patients.

Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the bite of Aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water, while Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.

 “We have been appealing to people through our campaign to not allow stagnation of water in coolers or dog-feeders, which become a hot breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes. Our domestic breeding checkers (DBCs), who go to inspect houses, are often denied entry by people, so we are unable to check the growth of vectors inside houses,” said a senior corporation official.

Besides, all the three corporations have also taken a number of measures to prevent mosquito breeding, including creating awareness by using various media, deploying more dengue breeding checkers, and desilting of drains, the official said.

The south body has decided to spray insecticide named 'Alpha Cyper Methrin' which remains effective for three months from the date of spraying, an SDMC official said.

A senior SDMC official said the spraying will be done during months of May and June in the first phase whereas, under the second phase, it will be sprayed in July and August. “The spray will be especially concentrated in JJ and rehabilitation colonies as these areas are very suitable for breeding,” he said.

With the move, the SDMC officials believe that the approaching menace of vector-borne diseases can be checked as the mosquitoes will be paralysed after coming in contact with such insecticide. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides is the main vector control strategy adopted in the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) in India to control malaria transmission.

 In one of the worst outbreak, a total of 12,221 chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016, out of which 9,749 were confirmed.