Soon, if the State Health Department has its way, people will be encouraged to plant saplings that can keep mosquitoes at bay.
This, to be taken up along with regular prevention measures including spraying and fogging, will help check the spread of vector-borne diseases.
The Health Department in coordination with the AYUSH Directorate has chalked out a ₹10.56 crore project proposal and included it in the Project Implementation Plan for this year seeking funds under the National Health Mission (NHM).
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Plants such as marigold, lemon grass, basil, lavender and vitex negundo (nirgundi) are some of the 14 plants that emanate a distinct smell which acts as mosquito repellent.
The Departments of Forests and Horticulture will be involved in raising and mobilising the seedlings that will be distributed for free to people, especially in areas that are vulnerable to outbreaks of vector-borne diseases. Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), told The Hindu that the integrated project will involve the community in adopting herbal ways to keep themselves safe from mosquito bites.
“While our regular prevention programmes will continue in a more intensified manner, this project will supplement the vector-borne disease control programme. We plan to start distributing the saplings from this Vanamahotsava day,” she said. Thimmappa Shettighar Deputy Director (AYUSH, NHM) said: “Our plan is to distribute 1.5 lakh seedlings in every taluk. Although we will spend ₹4 on every seedling, we will dictribute it free of cost to people. The plan is to start the drive by giving it to patients who visit government health facilities with symptoms of dengue, chikungunya or malaria.”
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‘Only plant extracts can help’
While the AYUSH Directorate claims that growing certain medicinal plants will keep mosquitoes at bay, sources in the State unit of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) dispute this. A senior doctor in NVBDCP State unit said that only extracts from the plants will act as mosquito repellents and not the plants themselves.
“Growing the plants will not help. Extracts of the plant that can be removed mechanically will help. The best thing is to burn neem leaves to fumigate homes,” sources said.
Incidence remain the same
So far this year, the incidence of dengue and chikungunya in the State is nearing the numbers that were reported in the corresponding months in 2016.
In 2016, 67 dengue and 23 chikungunya cases were reported in January, and 116 dengue and 87 chikungunya cases were reported in February. This year, 63 dengue and 33 chikungunya cases have been reported in January, while 105 dengue and 54 chikungunya were reported in February.
The State had reported a total of 6,000 dengue cases and eight deaths apart from 1,600 chikungunya cases in 2016.