Larva of Dengue mosquito is becoming more pervasive in certain areas of the city where fresh infections have surfaced. In certain instances, even eggs of the mosquitoes are found to have been infected by the virus.
Officials from the Entomology wing of GHMC have informed that the larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquito which carries the Dengue virus have been found in every third house in certain areas where the incidence is high. The areas include Secunderabad, Saroornagar, Amberpet, Begumpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Musheerabad and others.
“Our teams are carrying out anti-larval activities in all the houses up to half a kilometre around the infected household. Each day, they cover upward of one lakh households. It has been noticed that, of every 10 houses thus covered, Dengue larvae is found in at least three to four,” Chief Entomologist A. Rambabu informed.
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Further, the virus is already found to be there in the Aedes eggs due to trans-ovarian transmission, which hatch into mosquitoes born with the virus. According to prior understanding, the mosquito is thought to be a vector for transmission between humans. Officials said the number of dengue cases in city have gone up to about 120, of which 76 are confirmed infections. However, it cannot be said whether each confirmed positive is a case of dengue fever, because the virus could be latent in some individuals, claim officials.
The coming two months are favourable for mosquito explosion, thanks to continuous rainy days, and utmost care should be exercised to eradicate larvae. Gated communities are especially susceptible to proliferation of Dengue mosquito, due to accumulation of rain water at various public spots including flower pots, fountains, ornamental features, and swimming pools, Mr. Rambabu says.
“We have found abundant presence of larva in gated communities of Serilingampally, Chandanagar, Jubilee Hills and Yousufguda areas,” he said. GHMC teams are able to cover only about 13 lakh households from a total estimated 25 lakh in the city. Unless colony welfare associations, youth associations and NGOs chip in, it will be next to impossible to contain the breeding, warn officials.
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“Fifty per cent of the breeding is done in the plates placed underneath the flower pots, which people do not bother to empty. Water drums, sumps and tanks are other dangerous spots. The large number of vacant plots and locked houses in the city add to the numbers, as they are used as garbage dumps by others. In such circumstances, there is only so much we can do to contain mosquito proliferation, without community participation,” Mr. Rambabu says.
Close to 5,400 vacant plots and over 16,000 locked houses have been enumerated in the city by GHMC authorities under the Urban Malaria Scheme.