Ahead of northeast monsoon, Chennai Corporation intensifies mosquito control drive

The civic body has deployed 3,271 workers in 2,084 circles for door-to-door inspection and fumigation throughout the city

With the monsoon comes the threat of vector-borne diseases, especially malaria and dengue.

To this end, the Greater Chennai Corporation has taken steps to control the spread of these diseases such as fumigation and inspection of potential mosquito-breeding grounds.

According to the World Health Organisation, vector-borne diseases account for 17% of all infectious diseases, causing over 7,00,000 deaths annually. Through community stabilisation and protective methods, these diseases can be prevented and managed, civic officials here said.

The Corporation has requested the public to cooperate with its staff during door-to-door inspection to prevent the outbreak of dengue fever in the city. A survey of 10,97,632 houses was conducted. Of these, 9,117 houses were found to be breeding sites for mosquitoes.

According to an official, the fog sprayed contained pyrethrum extract that had proved to be effective. Studies showed that this chemical had low mammalian toxicity and low persistence in the environment, he said.  

A total of 3,271 workers, including 954 permanent mosquito control workers and 2,317 contract workers, have been deployed in 2,084 circles to improve efficiency. The machinery used by the Corporation ranged from battery-operated sprayers, hand-operated fumigators and equipment mounted on vehicles.