Identify Aedes breeding grounds, destroy mosquitos: Kolkata mayor
KMC mayor gave the advice to DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has experience on successfully combating the dengue menace, advised the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) to collect data on the number of patients in every ward of the city.
He pointed out that the collected data can then be used to identify and destroy Aedis mosquito breeding grounds in the capital, thereby putting an end to the epidemic.
The KMC mayor gave the advice to DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam through video conference on Monday.
During the conference, Firhad Hakim said that dengue is a notifiable disease and doctors should inform authorities concerned regarding the number cases that come to their attention.
“Since 2013, the KMC had embedded one official to each of the 144 wards of Kolkata. These officials visit commercial pathological laboratories, nursing homes, clinics and hospitals and collect reports on dengue cases on a daily basis,” he said.
Firhad Hakim added that the collected data on the number of patients in each ward helped the KMC identify and destroy mosquito breeding grounds at the micro level. The Kolkata mayor also called for local politicians and public representatives to help raise awareness among the people.
“It is the responsibility of the people to prevent mosquitoes from breeding,” he added.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same video conference, KMC deputy mayor Atin Ghosh warned DNCC that insecticides can no longer be any help in containing the dengue outbreak.
“Spraying insecticides will only cause mosquitoes to move to another location. A search and destroy operation must be launched in every ward of Dhaka to wipe out the Aedes mosquito population,” he told reporters.
Atin revealed that the KMC fought dengue successfully through a three-tier administrative body working on the ward-level, zone-level and centre-level.
“The KMC followed a two-way method to fend off the dengue epidemic in Kolkata- preventive and curative,” Atin said.
After the video conference, DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam told reporters that he will follow the KMC’s advice on combating dengue in the capital.