Fewer dengue cases this year as new control strategies employed

Panaji: A change in strategy has helped the health services bring down the non-seasonal incidence of dengue this year. It reported just four cases this May — one each from Mapusa, Cansarvarnem and Colvale in North Goa and from Margao in South Goa — as against the 21 cases logged during May last year. The significant drop in infections is also reflected in the 33 dengue cases recorded from Jan to May this year when compared to the 116 cases reported during the same period last year, deputy director and nodal officer for the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Dr Kalpana Mahatme, told TOI.An early start and comprehensive mapping of hotspots and places that reported upsurges of dengue last year helped the health services keep a close check on these areas. It has also started tyre collection drives and has advised people not to use tyres to hold down the plastic sheets on their roofs, but to use stones and other items in which water does not collect. “We found dengue cases in Bhatulem, St Inez, Aivao and Taleigao, among other areas, last year, but couldn’t identify the source of breeding until we saw water collecting on the tyres on roofs,” Mahatme said.The health department has also been coordinating with local bodies to get workers and trucks to collect water receptacles, scrap and other items, in an attempt to prevent mosquito breeding. “In the past, our workers would collect these items, but the local bodies wouldn’t get them picked up on time, and they would be lying there for days. This time, we have coordinated to ensure that these are picked up and that the area is cleared of the items the moment we collect them,” she said.Advocacy workshops for nodal officers of each department to explain their role in battling dengue have also started. In schools, Mahatme said, nodal officers are identifying students as health ambassadors to spread the message to keep the area free of mosquitoes.The health department also instructed its centres to investigate fever cases where health workers survey the areas to ensure there’s no mosquito breeding.