Bhopal Officials' Survey Finds Every Fifth House Serving as Host for Breeding of Mosquito Larvae

The monsoon season has brought in major worries in many parts of India, especially the places that have been badly affected by floods. While cities in Gujarat have made wild animals like crocodiles and lions come out on roads, the water is causing further worry for mosquito-borne diseases by allowing mosquito larvae to breed. Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal, a city that has been badly affected with floods, has seen numerous cases of mosquito-borne diseases.

As per the health department estimates, the rising number is a serious sign of a vector-borne outbreak in the state capital. A report in The Times of India mentioned that every fifth house in the city was found to be a breeding ground for mosquito larva during a survey. The survey was a joint vector control exercise done by the health department and Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), which was carried out near railway station area on Wednesday, September 11.

It becomes a major concern, given the fact that since July this year, more than 100 dengue cases have already been reported in Bhopal. To keep a check on the mosquito-borne diseases, around 100 district malaria office (DMO) staffers along with BMC workers undertook a largescale scanning of Semra Kalan, an area where more than a dozen dengue cases have been reported recently. Semra Kalan is located near the railway station (Kapda Mill).

Dr Akhilesh Dubey, DMO, said in his statement to The Times of India, “Over 1,500 houses were searched for mosquito larva. Vector control activity has been conducted along with sensitisation of the local population. It is alarming that houses where dengue patients were living were found to be breeding mosquito larva. The situation would worsen if local population does not support our drive.”

He mentioned that the health workers gathered at around 9 am and ran the operation till 4 pm. The health department survey also indicates two main problems that could trigger vector-borne outbreak in the area.

Elaborating on the causes, Dr Dubey added, “First, most of the water storage tanks are under a loft within the house and are not covered. Secondly, many of the basements are waterlogged.”

The repeated offenders were fined, which made 12 families to pay Rs 500 after their houses were found to be breeding mosquito larva for the second time.

It is important to know that dengue larva breeds in fresh water. Female aedes mosquito, which is the dengue-causing mosquito, needs a steady supply of fresh water.