31 July 2010
By Aparajita Ray
Bangalore, India
Please wear chudidhar or nightgown to protect yourself from mosquitoes which spread dengue and chikungunya. This is what Hosahalli’s corporator S Raju, himself a doctor and founder of Vijayanagar Global Hospital, tells his ward women during an awareness campaign.
Besides providing free medical treatment for patients who come with viral fever, he is also submitting a detailed report on the methods to tackle dengue, which is spreading scare among Bangaloreans in the past few weeks.
"Mayor SK Nataraj has given me the responsibility of providing the details on dengue. I will be handing over the report to the mayor next week," he said.
Women engaged in household work may not notice that mosquitoes are biting their hands and legs.
"They will not be aware of this because they may be too engrossed in their job.So if they cover themselves fully by wearing pants or full sleeve dress, the mosquitoes cannot bite them and the chances of getting infected with dengue or chikungunya could be minimised," he said.
He said infants should be made to sleep inside mosquito protection nets during day time as the disease-carrying mosquitoes will be biting them during day time.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is taking an intensive awareness campaign to the public and also conducting spraying and fogging in places which are breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Dr Raju has taken up the task of treating poor patients of his ward who have viral fever.
"People have no knowledge about the spread of dengue and chikungunya and how they can be prevented. They panic when on hearing about dengue and chikungunya. Along with party workers, I visit every home to make local residents aware of the diseases," he said.
One of the main suggestions of Raju to Palike babus is to tackle the cause at the source.
"Right now, health officials are concentrating on fogging outside homes. We need to create awareness to tackle mosquito spread within every house as these mosquitoes breed in fresh water," he said.
Twenty-five cases of dengue are reported in his ward. Of them, four to five cases need immediate care.
"During my tour of the ward, I found that the fountains which were installed in four parks were not working. The stagnant water in the fountains was serving as breeding ground for mosquitoes. I spent more than Rs8 lakh to repair the fountains.Two storm water drains, Rajakaluve and Doddakaluve, which run through my ward were not desilted for the past 10 years. So I immediately removed the silt," he said.
Dr Raju works in the ward till noon and attends to patients in the hospital till 2 pm. Later, he goes for the awareness campaign through the ward along with party workers and friends.
BBMP mayor SK Nataraj said that he was awaiting the report from the doctor-cum-corporator and would include his suggestions in the dengue tackling plan.
The city, on Wednesday, recorded its fourth suspected dengue death. Mangammanapalya resident Shilpa, 12, was admitted to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health with symptoms of dengue. Shilpa was shifted the institute from a private clinic, after she tested positive for dengue.
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