Despite mosquito threat, city ignores ‘dry day’ Huge increase in malaria cases
The epidemiology wing of the state’s health department has issued a high alert in the state to check the spread of Aedes egypti mosquito which is responsible for dengue and Zika.
Friday has been declared a ‘dry day’ across the state when households have been asked to empty water cans and other storage units at home, upturn and dry them completely, before refilling them with water.
This is meant to ensure that water stored at homes is not left stagnating. But the department is facing a challenge in its implementation as community participation is as enthusiastic as required for the programme to succeed.
Dr S. Prabhavthi, additional director. said, “The spread of daytime mosquito is the biggest concern. Catching adult mosquitoes is not possible but we are trying to kill the larva and we are also using a lot of spraying methods to prevent the breeding grounds for mosquitoes to develop. This mosquito can fly only 400 metres in its lifetime. We can take these measures to control its birth and spread, but people must ensure that they do not allow water to collect inside their homes and also outside.”
Dr S/ Krishna, senior pediatrician, said, “The same preventive measures which are taken for dengue have to be taken for Zika also. The government must implement dry day effectively as this will go a long way in dealing with the problem.”
Dry days ensure that there are no breeding grounds for the female mosquito and this works a long way in helping to control the spread of the disease.
This method has shown results but it can be successful only if there is maximum community participation, explained senior officers of health department.
Dr Ramesh Dasari, paediatrician, explained, “During the monsoon season, people are going to face the dual problem of dengue and Zika. Both diseases are caused by the same mosquito hence there has to be a very strong surveillance program by the government.”
The lower level staff who are assigned the task of spraying have to be totally committed and that there should be a follow-up system to check if they are carrying out their work as they should be.
A GHMC senior officer said, “Sometimes they merely mark the homes stating that they have sprayed the medicines but whether they have actually done or not is not checked. They come after 11 am when most homes have no one and that leads to skipping of the homes. These problems at the ground level must be addressed. Lakeside areas and homes where there is maximum greenery must be randomly checked so that in case of a lapse it can be identified and worked upon.” The city has seen an increase in the incidence of malaria with 120 cases being recorded from January to May 2017.
This is a huge increase from the norm of the years between 2013 and 2016, when only 50 cases were during this time period each year.
The increase in the numbers means that there will be more cases during the season, explained a senior officer in the epidemiology wing.
A senior health officer said, “The number of cases during the dry season is taken as an indication of the number of expected cases in the season. This year malaria too will see an increase and hence people have to take proper prevention methods against mosquito bites.”
The best is to keep oneself completely covered, use mosquito repellent creams and also herbal mosquito repellents for protection, doctors advised.
The Telangana state medical and health department has recorded 3,020 cases of malaria in 2016 and in the first six months of 2017 there have been 700 cases reported, according to sources.
The numbers are the same as it was in the last four years state officers. The reason for the sudden and massive increase in the number of malaria cases is being examined.