The Hindu : New Delhi News : MCD to target coolers in fight against dengue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 08, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

MCD to target coolers in fight against dengue

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 7. Well aware that coolers provide the most conducive atmosphere for breeding of `aedes' mosquito, whose bite causes the dreaded dengue disease, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided to take the fight against the dengue virus to desert coolers of the Capital.

Planning a year in advance, the civic body plans to distribute a special medicine for distribution in all coolers of the Capital next year, which would `prevent' the breeding of the dreaded aedes mosquito.

At its meeting here on Monday, the MCD House directed the Health officials to go ahead with its proposal to purchase 35 lakh sachets of temephos granules which if placed in a desert cooler would prevent breeding of the aedes mosquito. This is expected to cost Rs. 1.75 crores to the civic body.

Conceding that this was for the first time a medicine in such a huge quantity was being purchased to fight dengue, senior officials of the Health Department said the breeding of the aedes mosquito was being reported in desert coolers usually in offices and other public places due to lack of awareness and responsibility of the citizens and other staff working in the offices.

"We were trying to get these Temephos granules for the last four to five years. Now, some firms have introduced temephos one per cent granules in convenient five grams sachets which could be easily used by putting in desert coolers as a mosquito larvicide agent," the official said.

Stating that there were about 35 lakh coolers in residential, offices and commercial areas of the Capital and that sachet of five grams temephos granules would last for about three weeks, officials said if these granules were used for duration of the transmission season on an average five sachets would be required. "Thus as against the requirement of 1.75 crores such sachets, we have decided to purchase 35 lakh sachets which would be used for seven lakh sachets," he said.

Officials argue that it was essential to purchase these sachets if the MCD was to launch an effective fight against the dreaded disease. So far this year as many as seven dengue cases have been reported. The number of such cases is likely to increase very rapidly in the coming months as the mosquito density this time is very high. In 1996 more than 10,000 dengue cases and 423 deaths were reported. Last year, the health authorities reported 2,290 dengue cases and 34 deaths.

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