The Health Department has called for mass cleaning drives in urban and rural areas of Coimbatore district in the wake of sporadic summer showers received in the past several days.
The mass cleaning drives are meant to clear stagnation of rainwater in waste materials, buildings under construction, dumping sites and other locations, which will aid the breeding of aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the primary vector of dengue that lay eggs in freshwater.
Deputy Director of Health Services P. Aruna told The Hindu that source reduction activities were intensified, as the Department was expecting high breeding potential of the dengue spreading mosquitoes in the next two weeks.
Mass cleaning activities have been launched in village, panchayat, town panchayat, municipality and corporation levels. Special drives will also be conducted in view of the National Dengue Day, which falls on May 16.
“These measures are aimed at clearing breeding sites of mosquitoes, especially in places that have been classified as hotspots. People are requested to keep their houses and premises free of mosquito breeding sites. Local bodies will continue source reduction works in public places, streets and other places with high breeding potential,” she said.
Hotspots identified
A total of 92 places have been identified as hotspots, out of which 66 are in rural areas, six in municipalities and 20 in Coimbatore Corporation limits.
The Health Department and local bodies have also roped in scrap dealers, who will visit residential areas to collect damaged buckets, discarded utensils, paint cans, worn-out tyres, etc. to encourage people to get rid of such material and avoid storing them around houses.
Cases under control
The Health Department is also conducting fever surveillance through mobile medical units in 12 blocks in the district on a daily basis. People who have symptoms of dengue will be referred to government hospitals for treatment.
“There is no alarming situation in the district and cases are under control,” added Dr. Aruna.
Special ward for fever cases at CMCH
Coimbatore Medical College Hospital Dean A. Nirmala said the tertiary level hospital has not witnessed a spike in dengue cases. “The hospital is getting one to two cases of dengue as normal. A special ward has been allocated for fever and dengue cases as a precautionary measure,” she said.
