The Hindu : New Delhi News : New technique to check dengue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 04, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

New technique to check dengue

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 3. Buoyed by the success of the new "lure-and-kill" technique of killing "Aedes Aegyptii" mosquito and its larva that spreads the dreaded dengue disease, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to use it extensively in the Capital.

The technique has been developed by the Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE).

After signing an agreement with the DRDE to use the anti-dengue technique in the city, the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, said during the past one year, the civic body's Health Department carried out field trials in dengue-prone zones successfully and was now ready to use it extensively.

Mr. Mehta claimed that there was a significant decline in dengue cases this year due to use of the new method that controlled mosquito breeding.

This year 590 dengue cases with three deaths were reported, while last year the figure was 2,838 cases with 34 deaths, he informed.

Stating that the new technique was the result of a seven-year-long research, the DRDE's Director, K. Sekhar, said the female Aedes Aegyptii mosquito that spreads dengue lays its eggs in clear water containing larvae of the same species as they consider it safe.

These eggs have an attractant chemical C21 Hydrocarbon that draws the mosquito to the water.

During the research, the DRDE scientists managed to isolate the chemical that was later sprayed on water to lure the mosquito to lay eggs in it.

Interestingly, the chemical was combined with an insect growth regulator (IGR) that does not allow the hatchlings to reach adulthood and kills most of them at the larval stage, he disclosed.

Besides the "lure-and-kill" technique, the organisation has also developed a multi-insect repellent DEPA spray formulation that is very effective against carriers of malaria and dengue, Mr. Sekhar said.

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