Dengue: Let’s Us Help Prevent This Disease by Acting Together

The onset of monsoon is known to create favourable conditions for the breeding of mosquitoes, particularly aedes aegypti species, which transmits the dengue virus. Dengue, the viral infection, spreads through the bite of an infected female mosquito and can prove to be deadly in severe cases. There is no specific treatment of dengue and it is important to get proper medical care when diagnosed with the disease. In the event of a dengue outbreak and also to prevent the same,   the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme appeals to the public to follow the following measures:

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•             Use of insecticide repellents.

•             Using mosquito nets (LLIN) daily during day and night time.

•             Wearing long sleeve clothing/long pants.

•             Avoid stagnation of water in and around your homes/dwellings, tires, flower pot bases, unclogging of drains and covering of water tankers to curb mosquito breeding.

•             Identification of stagnant water in the around the household surroundings for removal. Dengue mosquito breeds in even the smallest of containers containing stagnant water example ‘a bottle cap’, so it is pertinent to remove all big and small mosquito breeding sites.

•             Observation of ‘one dry day in a week’ where water in all the containers around the house are emptied out into a dry area.

•             Due to water stagnation in and around the households, dengue vectors may breed which could lead to increased mosquito density. Dengue vectors tend to breed in stagnant water if left unchecked, all precautions must be taken to ensure that water does not get accumulated in and around containers at any given period. It may be noted that fogging is just a temporary intervention and the only permanent solution is community participation in controlling Dengue mosquito also known as tiger mosquito because of its black and white marking.

•             Incase of fever immediately visit the nearest hospital.

Dengue fever is a viral tropical disease that is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue mosquito bites during daytime mostly early morning and evening. When a person is infected by the mosquito, the virus circulates in the blood for 2-7 days which is the amount of time the fever takes to develop.

Let’s us help prevent this disease by acting together.

Dr. Neisakho Kere

Joint Director & SPO

National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP)

Directorate of Health and Family Welfare

Nagaland: Kohima