Panchkula launches crackdown on vector-borne diseases, intensifies fogging, reaches out to citizens

The health department had in June begun a regularly spraying Deltamethrin in the rural belts of the district along with conducting source reduction activities for mosquito larvae.

THE PANCHKULA health administration on Monday held a joint meeting with the district malaria, education officers, those from the civic body as well as heads of RWAs to figure out a way to strengthen the preventive and put in place corrective measures needed to control and check the spread of vector-borne diseases, especially dengue and malaria, in the district.

“Panchkula has seen a rise in dengue cases of late, with the district civil surgeon, Dr Mukta Kumar, holding a meeting on Monday to coordinate the plan of action with the Municipal Corporation of the district, the malaria department as well as citizens to weed out the dengue larvae in a systematic way,” said spokesperson Dr Mankirat Kaur.

“The civil surgeon has taken a note of the issues of the citizens and requested them to contribute towards dengue check activities at their own houses and localities. She has also requested the district education officer to sensitise children in morning assembly regarding general preventive steps on a daily basis,” added Dr Kaur.

According to figures, only five cases of dengue were reported from January to August this year. The number started shooting up last week of August and has risen to around 41 cases as of now. Officials said as many as 85 people, in reality, have tested positive for dengue in the district of whom, almost 50 are residents of other cities and states. Only 41 are residents of Panchkula. No dengue deaths have yet been reported in the district.

Officials said that the best way to prevent dengue was to wear full sleeves shirt, socks, observe ‘Dry Day’ every week, and avoid water stagnation around your areas. They added that the health department, along with teams from the Panchkula civic body have been carrying out extensive door-to-door IEC campaigns and fogging to curb the menace.

The health department had in June begun a regularly spraying Deltamethrin in the rural belts of the district along with conducting source reduction activities for mosquito larvae. Gumbusia fish was released in June in all water bodies of the district in a phased manner.

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