Vector control focus of World Health Day

Monday, April 7, 2014

Swarms of mosquitoes buzzing around people after dusk is a familiar scene on almost every city street. So World Health Organisation’s (WHO) theme for World Health Day on Monday will clearly strike a chord in Chennai. WHO has identified vector diseases as biggest threat to health and have started a campaign with the tagline ’Small bite, big threat’.

“We are fed up with this mosquito menace. We have to close our doors and windows by dusk. It becomes very uncomfortable because of the high night temperatures. Mosquito repellants and coils no longer seem to work,” said S Ramesh, a resident of Nandanam.

Poor desilting of drains and waterways and irregular garbage clearance has compounded to the problem. B M Rex, entomologist, Spartan Enterprises, said: “It’s surprising that there is a rise in the mosquito population even without rains. The stagnant water and overflowing drains are the main breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The corporation should release gambusia fish into the temple tanks to reduce the larval density of mosquitoes.”

Source: Times of India (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Health Care
Tags
governance, infectious diseases, infrastructure