Kolkata Municipal Corporation starts awareness campaign to check dengue, malaria

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 3 (ANI): In view of the increasing cases of dengue and malaria, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has started an awareness campaign.
Talking to ANI, Chotan Das, ward 118 vector control incharge, said, “With the instruction of KMC, we have set up a special team, and arrangements are being made in different wards to run a campaign to spread awareness about dengue."
"The civic body is making all possible efforts to combat the dengue outbreak and is also holding campaigns to make people aware of the situation. The accumulation of water and garbage on the roofs, roads, and backyards of houses is minutely checked. People must ensure that the area around their house is clean and dry so that mosquitoes don’t breed. We have also issued notices against people who are neglecting such things. There are provisions for fines and penalties in this notice," he added.
Member of the Mayor's Council Tarak Singh said that Mayor Firhad Hakim has given instructions to watch the civic team, including the health team of KMC, which runs a campaign regarding dengue in all wards.
"Lack of awareness about vector diseases is responsible for spreading dengue. People are not aware of dengue and how dangerous it is for life. A total of eight people, including a minor, have died due to dengue. Even though many people are not maintaining cleanliness, they don't change shallow water, which is the main source of dengue breeding," he added.
Talking about dengue, Dr Samudra Gooptu said that post-monsoon is the most dangerous for dengue. Month wise July to November are vital for dengue breeds.
"Every day, at least 2-3 patients are coming who are diagnosed with dengue. In hospitals, 5-10 per cent of beds are occupied by dengue patients. If the numbers of cases continue to rise in this way, it will be dangerous in the coming months. Thus, people should follow the instructions of the local body," he added.
He said that nowadays we see lots of construction under Urban development projects, which is one of the sources of dengue. In simple language, puddles are one of the main causes of dengue larvae. They breed in shallow water, which is quite enough for dengue larvae. (ANI)