In a series of efforts to control mosquito breeding and proliferation of vector-borne diseases, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to promote dengue free coolers.
Taking to The Pioneer, NMC Mayor Preeti Aggarwal said, “The move is aimed to promote dengue free cooler as preventive measures. Prevention is better than cure. We will use every medium to generate awareness among people. The Corporation will use radio, social media along with banners and pamphlets. Corporation officials have been directed to explain the benefits of putting net over water coolers”.
Additional Commissioner (Health) in North Corporation Pankaj Kumar Singh said that introduction of the concept of dengue free cooler is an environment friendly initiative and will be taken up at war footing to generate awareness among the people.
“The concept was developed by experts of health department after years of research and experiencing practical approach to deal with mosquitoes menace. The maximum breeding of Aedes mosquito, which causes dengue and Chikungunya takes place in desert coolers so we have already instructed manufacturers to sell Dengue-free cooler. This initiative would help in containing the number of cases of these diseases," he said.
The conventional desert coolers are being used in many parts of the country as a cooling device in households, offices and industrial establishments. The conventional desert cooler retains water for longer period and becomes a potential breeding grounds for dangerous mosquitoes.
Dr Pramod Verma, District Health Officer (DHO), City Zone said that more than 50 per cent of breeding places of dengue vectors are contributed by these conventional coolers as the water tank is of open type which is a very suitable for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
"Now the concept is to cover water tanks to prevent the entry of mosquitoes into it for laying of eggs. There is thus no risk of disease transmission due to coolers and no weekly cleaning of the water tank is required. Even if the breeding still takes place inside the cooler and eggs fall in the water tank and develop, the mosquitoes can't come out due to cover over the water tank," he said.
Experts have raised the red flag after the resurgence of this deadly Malaria parasite and have advised Government agencies to take adequate measures to arrest the spread of this deadly infectious disease that can play havoc with people's health.
They also fear that the number of cases can escalate to alarming level this year due to two new species found by The National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) that is Anopheles Stephensi (urban vector) and Anopheles Culicifacies (rural vector) circulating this year. The parasitic infection was lying dormant after mutating, but it has made a comeback after a gap of five years at a time when Delhi is already reeling under the scourge of dengue and
chikungunya.
Dengue and chikungunya are transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, while malaria is caused by the plasmodium parasite that is passed from one human to another with the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
Apart from 113 cases of malaria threatening to escalate in Delhi, dengue cases have reached close to 100. The number of chikungunya cases recorded in the city stood at nearly 150 till June 24 as per the data released by the Municipal Corporations on Tuesday.
With 14 cases of dengue being reported in June, the number of cases has risen to an alarming 97 this season.
North corporation spokesperson YS Mann said "A net placed above the water tank of the cooler keeps away mosquitoes from breeding in water. The Corporation is making all efforts but public participation is must for success of the drive for prevention of dengue, malaria or chikungunya,".
"The people would be made aware about taking measures to check breeding of mosquitoes. Dengue cannot be prevented without proactive part played by the citizens," he said.
He further requested the people to install the anti-dengue mosquito net into their existing coolers or buy the dengue-free cooler.
last year, NMC used special nets to filter out mosquito larva from Yamuna and then put them in drums full of insecticide. According to estimates, there are around one million colonies of mosquitoes in the Yamuna and the Government used diesel and bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) to kill larva.
"This, however, meant that we were pouring the chemicals into the Yamuna and polluting it. Now, instead of putting the insecticide in the water, we are capturing the mosquitoes and then putting them in the insecticide," said an MCD official.
The oil and the chemicals added to the Yamuna water polluted the river and also fused these chemicals into our water system. "Delhi jal board has no method to filter out these chemicals that we add to water bodies and even water at our home. So, it is fused into our water system and it is like slow poisoning," said the official.
However, a senior official of the Corporation also stresses that it should be mandatory for manufacturer to sell only dengue free cooler. "The concept is good but strict implementation is needed to curtail mosquitoes menace," he said.
Though the season of vector-borne diseases had ended in December, the city continues to report such cases, prompting authorities to prepare a roadmap for the combat plan. The season for the vector-borne diseases begins from mid-July nd generally lasts until November.