Lending their support to the district administration to contain dengue, private medical colleges in the city on Monday agreed to join hands with the authorities in the ongoing exercise of source reduction.
During a meeting between Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S. and representatives of the colleges, Mr. Senthil asked them to take up source reduction exercises on the outskirts of the city.
He said each college would be allotted a grid comprising about 100 households for personnel to clear breeding of dengue-causing mosquito. The college’s medical staff can then undertake fever surveillance and treat the infected patients. They can also make people aware of the need to clear mosquito-breeding spots in their houses and use mosquito repellents to prevent bites. “The help by medical colleges gives a boost to our ongoing exercise against dengue,” Mr. Senthil said.
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Meanwhile, Mohammed Nazir, Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation, appealed to the people of the city to cooperate in containing dengue by taking up source reduction at home. “This needs community participation.”
B. Srinivasa Kakkillaya, a senior physician in the city and an expert on malaria and dengue, said fogging is of no use in controlling dengue. Instead of fogging their premises, people should clear them of stagnant water. Dr. Kakkillaya said that all those who have fever need not rush for NS 1 test for dengue. The World Health Organisation has said that this test is not reliable to detect dengue.
Infants, pregnant women, and senior citizens with health complications, and those suffering from chronic diseases and with the symptoms of vomiting, giddiness and skin rashes, may be admitted to the hospitals in case of dengue. Others need not be admitted. Monitoring variations in haemoglobin level matters most than counting the platelets, he said.
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Dr. Kakkillaya also asked people not to insist that health professionals give them extracts from papaya leaves to get rid of dengue as it is of no use.