Health department chalks out action plan for dengue prevention
Jamshedpur , June 25 : With Monsoon about to hit the city, the health department of East Singhbhum has chalked out action plan to prevent spread of dengue.A six-member East Singhbhum health department team on Monday inspected the Cable Town locality in Golmuri, where this year�s first dengue positive case has surfaced.
The team distributed dengue/chikungunya awareness pamphlets, conducting house-to-house search for larvae of aedesaegypti during the four-hour long drive.
�We want to take every step to stop the spread. We were keeping a tab on the dengue positive patient and had got information this morning that the 39-year-old homemaker, a resident of Cable Town under Golmuri was discharged this morning from Tata Main Hospital and is doing well,� said East Singhbhum district surveillance officer, Dr Sahir Pall.
The health officer said that, as per mandate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) they carried out spraying of larvicides in potential larvae breeding spots in 100 meters radius and also carried out house-to-house search of over 100 flats and single storied houses in the said radius.
Meanwhile, the district health department also reviewed the progress of drive against dengue today. Most of the abandoned houses in company areas have also been searched and unused containers destroyed along with spraying of larvicides.
�We are yet to see fogging by Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee and Jugsalai municipality. We are writing to special officers of the civic bodies to ensure fogging at the earliest along with spraying of larvicides,� said Dr Pall.
The department which earlier used to only spray larvicidal apart from undertaking cleanliness exercise will be opting for destroying unused containers (identified vector breeding centers) in the affected areas and educating people on not allowing water to stagnate in residential areas.
�As per latest directive we have asked our men to carry out fogging exercise in the affected areas of Sakchi, Jugsalai and Mango with focus on identifying and destroying unused containers storing waters in houses and localities and educating locals about steps to prevent breeding of dengue vectors,� said the official.
This exercise would be held simultaneously with routine methods of spraying larvicidal in the area.
“We need to understand that mosquitoes that carry the virus of dengue do not come from outside, rather they generate from the household things like flower-pots, coolers water, rejected tyre kept on the roof top or in the corner of the garden. So we must ensure that there is no such place where water is stagnant for sometime,” said an official.
He said that the administration will launch a special drive to create awareness on dengue and the Health Department will monitor the onset of the disease.
