On the eve of the World Malaria Day on Thursday, district medical and health officer J.V.V.R.K. Prasad said the number of reported malaria cases in the district had come down from 420 in 2016 to 57 in 2018.
From January to April 21 this year, 13 cases had been reported. And there had been no reported cases of Japanese encephalitis and chikungunya in the district.
Prevention methods
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Dr. Prasad appealed to people to take steps to prevent mosquito breeding. With the slogan - Zero Malaria Starts With Me, an awareness campaign had been launched. Stating that the disease was more prevalent at tribal villages, he said, “We have identified 50 such villages and ‘gudems’ as problematic and distributed mosquito nets there.”
Moreover, he said, 37 other villages had been identified as problematic.
Explaining measures to prevent mosquito breeding, he said fogging would begin on June 1. For the purpose, urban development authorities, the Municipal Administration, the Panchayati Raj , the Rural Water Supply, the Women and Child Welfare, the Agriculture, the Irrigation, the Animal Husbandry, the Fisheries and the Forest departments would be roped in. As for prevention methods, Dr. Prasad said meshes around doors and windows was the best way to prevent mosquitoes from flying indoors.
He said that even small puddles were potential breeding grounds and everyone must keep surroundings dry.
