Domestic breeding checkers to take up mosquito control steps

Friday, 08 July 2016 07:05 administrator
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The Hindu      08.07.2016  

Domestic breeding checkers to take up mosquito control steps

  • Vector-control awareness:K.S.T. Suresh, Deputy Director of Health Services, Vellore, addressing a training programme on Thursday. (Below) Samples of larvae kept at the programme.— Photos: C. Venkatachalapathy
    Vector-control awareness:K.S.T. Suresh, Deputy Director of Health Services, Vellore, addressing a training programme on Thursday. (Below) Samples of larvae kept at the programme.— Photos: C. Venkatachalapathy

Workers to visit hotspots where fever, dengue cases were reported

Starting Friday, 745 domestic breeding checkers will be engaged to control mosquito breeding in the Vellore Health Unit Division (HUD). They will cover areas at the block-level, town panchayats, municipalities and Vellore Corporation.

K.S.T. Suresh, Deputy Director of Health Services, Vellore HUD, said 10 mazdoors had been allotted to each block and town panchayat.

“There are a total of 745 domestic breeding checkers, including for Vellore Corporation and municipalities. They will start the mosquito control work from Friday. We are planning to add at least 10 more mazdoors for each block,” he said.

On Thursday, the Department of Public Health, Vellore, conducted an orientation programme for domestic breeding checkers. “We explained the lifecycle of a mosquito and how breeding sources should be destroyed. We also demonstrated how Abate solution should be prepared according to the level of water in a container and how to operate fogging machines,” Mr. Suresh said.

The workers would visit areas, particularly hotspots that have earlier recorded fever cases or dengue, to take up control measures. “In such hotspot villages, one worker would cover a minimum of 50 houses a day. They would also cover areas where fever cases have been reported. They would destroy mosquito breeding sources, undertake fogging, take up mass cleaning measures along with local body workers and water chlorination,” Mr. Suresh said.

The workers would take up fogging measures too. There are 200 mini fogging machines and 150 pulse fogging machines that are hand-held in Vellore HUD, besides one vehicle-mounted fogging machine.

Through an exhibition, the workers got familiarised with various mosquito-breeding sources such as waste broken pots and unused tyres. “We have asked them to remove such unused articles in and around houses. So, when it rains, the larval density will be low and mosquito density will also reduce,” he added.

The workers would also ask residents to scrub and wash water containers once a week. For this, households would be provided with bleaching powder, the official said.