Times of India
24 April 2010
By Umesh Isalkar
Pune, India

An information technology professional from a tony area in the city tested positive for dengue fever recently. Even though breeding spots of the dengue mosquito were not found inside the house or on the building’s premises, health officials said that people should be extra careful and vigilant as storage of water during summer provides the perfect breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito which causes the disease.

“Intermittent rains and shortage of water are the prime reasons for dengue in the city. People should be extra-careful and vigilant to ward off the disease,” said head of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) insect control department Sadashiv Patole.

A total of 150 families at the apartment in Baner where the IT professional lived were screened and the area was fogged, said Patole.

The civic body has 250 workers who check the breeding spots of the dengue mosquitoes. “We also have a list of breeding sites and take all precautions to arrest the growth cycle of the mosquitoes,” added Patole.

The only method of controlling or preventing the transmission is to combat the vector mosquitoes. “They breed in earthen pots, metal drums and cisterns used for domestic water storage, as well as discarded plastic containers, automobile tyres and other items where rain water collects,” said state entomologist A S Bhosale.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is easily identifiable by its distinctive black and white stripes. It breeds in clean, stagnant water. Proper solid waste disposal and improved water storage practices, including covering containers to prevent access to the egg-laying female mosquitoes should be followed, added Bhosale.

of the four who died of dengue fever in September and October 2009, the homes of three had breeding spots. “This indicates that people, irrespective of which part of the city they live in, should be vigilant,” said Patole. Two of the dead were residents of Sahakarnagar while one was from Parvati. Deaths due to dengue fever were last reported in the city in 2003 when four persons had died.