With the national Capital reeling under worst chikungunya outbreak, the menace of vector-borne diseases is unlikely to fade away anytime soon as experts say low humidity level will help in controlling it. However, as per Indian Meteorological Department’s prediction, hot and humid conditions, which are most favourable to mosquito growth and survival, are expected to continue in New Delhi for at least two more weeks.
In its weekly weather report, IMD said that city will witness moderate rainfall in this week. According to IMD, monsoon is expected to recede by 17 of this month and with that the humidity level will start decreasing.
Environmentalists say that a heavy downpour will help the residents of national Capital but light showers will add more miseries to them. light showers can shoot up amount of moisture in city air giving favourable breeding conditions to mosquitoes.
About 2,882 cases of chikunguniya and dengue have been recorded so far in the national Capital. The cases are likely to spiral as the Aedes aegypti vector mosquito which breeds during the rain continues to reproduce and add to its numbers usually till the winter months, experts said.
According to the experts, Conditions like stagnant water and damp weather, seen during and after the monsoon are ideal for the virus to grow and proliferate. The vector mosquitoes grow in numbers in these conditions. So, dengue cases see a sharp spike in the months immediately after the monsoons, in this instance, late August and September
As no approved vaccine exists, the most effective means of prevention are protection against contact with the disease-carrying mosquitoes and controlling mosquito populations by limiting their habitat. However, with failure of municipal corporations to control mosquito breeding, residents have to protect themselves from mosquito bites, said experts.
Dr SK Sharma, who heads the Internal Medicine department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said, “Rain has escalated outbreak of vector-borne diseases. The changes in climatic conditions, sultry weather, and poor drainage system have also contributed to the situation. People should not panic as chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease like dengue.”
“Although it is difficult to say that environmental factors have becoming the main source of vector-borne diseases but rain in past week in low line areas of city has created good breeding environment for mosquitoes,” said a scientist who is doing research on global climate change.
He also said that the weather factor which may inhibit the activity of mosquitoes is the heat and they like humid weather. “Frequent rain may wash larva but rise in humidity in atmosphere is favourable for them,” he said further.