Authorities to enforce strict measures to prevent mosquito-borne diseases

Hyderabad: Municipal Administration and Urban Development principal secretary Dana Kishore has instructed authorities to implement stringent measures to prevent the spread of diseases such as dengue, malaria, chicken pox, and other mosquito-borne illnesses. The measures aim to ensure the public’s health and safety by addressing risks associated with the diseases.

The zonal commissioners have been directed to monitor all cases of dengue by regular visits to the basti dawakhanas and urban primary health centres (UPHCs) and take up consistent reviews of dengue, malaria, chikungunya, and other vector-borne diseases with DCs, YSEs, and AEs.

The officers have been asked to visit schools, colleges, and hostels to conduct awareness programmes on dengue prevention as well as fogging daily from 6 to 9 pm. It has been recommended that fogging be carried out in areas with confirmed cases in slums; senior entomologists, along with assistants, should revisit 5–6 areas daily for further inspection.

Following the directives, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has implemented a special initiative aimed at preventing dengue by taking strong measures during the monsoon. It initiated anti-larvae operations, in 27,608 areas/places to combat the spread of dengue.

The areas/places include 9,680 locked houses, 767 function halls, 6,157 open areas, 4,635 cellars, 6,370 construction sites, 3,045 schools, 427 colleges, and 554 hostels. Fogging was taken up in colonies where positive cases were reported and also in slums. Door-to-Door IEC programmes were also conducted every Friday (Dry Day) in 4,846 colonies.

In addition, awareness programmes were conducted in residential areas along with the representatives of the resident welfare associations on vector-borne diseases. Over 2,751 students from various schools volunteered and were educated about fighting dengue. Detection of dengue victims is done within 4-5 days through the ELISA test, and preventive measures are then taken.