The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Vector control measures: time to rethink strategies?

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
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Vector control measures: time to rethink strategies?

C. Maya

Source reduction alone may not be enough

Thiruvananthapuram: Entomologists have warned that the authorities concerned and local bodies should not go by the vector control and low vector indices achieved during the dry season as the scene could change drastically once the rain starts.

Control measures adopted during the summer and pre-monsoon cleaning will not be enough because the hatch-out rate of mosquitoes during the wet season is 80 per cent, while it is just 15-20 per cent in the summer, entomologists point out.

They also point out that there can be no universal strategy for controlling mosquitoes of the Aedes genus which spread both dengue and chikungunya and that strategies would have to be devised depending on the geography, climatic patterns and the nature of human and mosquito contact. As Aedes mosquitoes are peri-domestic, community participation is crucial in eliminating this genus. But, while awareness about source reduction might be high among the public now, it is doubtful whether the community is sufficiently motivated.

The Health Department is planning a joint campaign with the Education Department in the first week of June when schools reopen, to enlighten school children about the danger posed by Aedes mosquitoes and how individual households have to take the initiative in controlling the vector population.

The department reckons that encouraging behavioural change would be more effective among the younger population. If children in each household take the responsibility of systematic and sustained source reduction through regular ‘dry day’ observation and by ensuring that water does not collect in places the vector may access, it might go a long way in reducing the mosquito population.

However, in the March issue of the Public Library of Science journal, scientists have pointed out that the universal reliance on source reduction may appear logical given the vector’s domestic habitat, but it has not been working in societies at risk.

Unless there is blanket coverage of source reduction, sustained execution over a period and a determined leadership to monitor the execution, source reduction cannot be successful. Unless all members of the community participate, one could still be at risk from a neighbour who does not bother about source reduction. Which is why, the article suggests, it is time that strategies for Aedes elimination were revised to give more attention to adult mosquitoes as in malaria prevention programmes.

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