As mosquito repellents and sprays fly off the shelves of big retail stores, the poor man in the Capital is fighting the early onslaught of the deadly sting with egg crates and neem leaves.
The egg crates have been a new find for the residents who are burning them in dozens to keep mosquitoes at bay even as the city has already recorded 79 cases of chikungunya this year so far. Twenty-four cases of dengue and 13 malaria cases have also been registered, according to the reports released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
Early spike in cases
“In 2016, the city witnessed its worst chikungunya outbreak in the last 10 years and this year we are seeing an early spike in cases. The mosquito menace is such that nothing seems to be working this year. Somebody told us that burning empty egg trays is effective. So besides the usual coils etc we are also burning egg crates and neem leaves and they seem to be working. What else can a poor man do,’’ said Rekha, who lives in Jodhpur mess with her four children.
“Neem leave are useful,” said Mohammed Hassin, who lives near Minto Road. He is concerned about the adverse effects of overuse of mosquito repellents and egg trays on the health of his children. “We had tried burning egg trays, but the smoke is so pungent and thick that my one-year-old daughter seems to have developed breathing problems,” he said.
Egg crates in demand
The area shopkeepers are of course pleased with the sudden spurt in demand for egg crates, which they considered as waste till a few days ago.
“Earlier, the trays were thrown away, but now suddenly they are in huge demand. We are selling them by the dozen at Rs. 2 per tray. They are also available in wholesale and we are not giving them away as we used to before,” said Ram Lal, the owner of a store at Gole Market.
Doctors warn against the ill-effects of the exposure to smoke from burning egg crates. “It is certainly not healthy to be breathing in all that smoke just to keep the mosquitoes away for some time. It suffocates young children and stresses the lungs of older people,” said Dr. Anil Bansal of Delhi Medical Association.
“In the last three months, we have seen a steady rise in the number of patients suffering from vector-borne diseases. Of these, 11 patients had acquired the infection in the neighbouring States. Chikungunya and dengue cases in the city had tapered off by December last year,” said a senior health official.
