Amid fears of a possible dengue epidemic striking Madurai in October, the fever season, the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA) has expressed concern over the high mosquito density in the city.
The association, focusing on the dengue-prone districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari, has called for urgent steps to prevent mosquito breeding and a clear-cut proactive strategy to contain the dengue vector in residential areas and public spaces.
A team of IPHA experts, led by its State president S. Elango, toured susceptible areas in and around Madurai, such as Anna Nagar, K.K.Nagar, Viswanathapuram, Ulaganeri, Othakadai, Thiruvadhavur and Thirumogur on Monday.
“The dengue virus is active in these areas and fever symptoms are accentuated. A clear shift noticed in our assessment is that the threat is more in urban areas than rural areas,” Dr.Elango told The Hindu on Tuesday here following an inspection trip to Tuticorin.
He appealed to the district administration and Corporation authorities to deploy more sanitary workers for the task of destroying mosquito larvae to prevent a dengue outbreak in October, especially in view of the emergency situation that prevailed during the same month last year.
According to Dr.Elango, who is a former Director of Public Health, Tamil Nadu, the density of the aedes mosquito needs be brought down and the public sensitised to the risk of water stagnation. Dr.Elango expressed concern at the paucity of entomologists.
“It is high time the government appointed more entomologists in Corporations and municipalities to tackle mosquito-borne diseases in a scientific manner,” he observed.
