Survey detects mosquito larvae in over 4k houses in Steel City

Jamshedpur: A house-to-house survey conducted by the Tata Steel Utility and infrastructure Services Ltd. (TSUISL) from April to June to detect the potential breeding sites of mosquitoes, identified 4,193 houses. The surveillance covered 1,80,062 houses in the command area of the firm. It was part of the measure to combat the spread of dengue and other vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in the city during monsoon.

The survey reported house index (HI) (percentage of houses positive for larvae) of 2.32 per cent, which is less than 5 per cent HI, considered to be high risk for dengue, TSUISL stated in a press communication on Monday. The utility services provider also conducted extensive searches for breeding sites of culex mosquitoes in outdoor stagnant water, drains, ditches, and riverbeds. The surveyors detected 8,992 potential outdoor breeding sites and destroyed these. Spraying was done to curb the growth of the mosquito population. Moreover, the TSUISL established a reporting mechanism for disease surveillance with the Tata Main Hospital (TMH) and the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH) to monitor and quickly respond to reported cases of dengue and other VBDs. Rigorous surveillance efforts are being carried out through inspections and necessary actions are being taken to eliminate potential breeding sites, the company said. Awareness campaigns in schools and colleges to educate students, teachers and the wider community about dengue prevention steps are also being held. With 25 positive dengue cases reported between June and July 17, deputy commissioner (DC) Vijaya Jadhav has issued dos and don'ts for the residents to save themselves from contracting dengue and chikungunya. Further, the notified area commitees of Jamshedpur, Mango, Jugsalai, and the operating companies in the urban circle have been asked to carry out cleaning drive in their command limits to eliminate the breeding sites.