LUCKNOW: Civic authorities are in the dock for their failure to check the spread of dengue in the city but it has been found that the common man is equally responsible for the menace.
Out of the total patients who contracted dengue in the city in the last 30 days, the houses of at least 50% of them served as the breeding ground for the female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The Aedes aegypti – carrier of dengue virus – lays eggs in freshwater and even a small puddle can become its breeding ground. A health department survey has found Aedes aegypti larvae in the houses of 172 patients out of 347 reported from September 2 to October 2.

“Our teams found that larvae were thriving in a number of places inside residential premises including rooftop, flower pots, gardens, containers, abandoned objects, drums, old tyres and desert coolers, among others,” said Dr KP Tripathi, the in charge of vector-borne disease unit.
The localities where the houses of patients were located included Vipul Khand, Vivek Khand, Vijay Khand, Eldeco Colony, Indiranagar, Telibagh, Shardanagar, Salenagar, Alambagh, Nakkhas, LDA colony, Kanpur road, Turiya Ganj, Mahanagar and Rajajipuram.
“Aedes mosquito’s egg hatch into larvae in less than a day and attains adulthood within a week. The breeding cycle is 10-12 days. People should regularly clean water sites in their houses. If it is not possible to drain out water, a little kerosene can be poured to kill larvae,” he said.
TIMES VIEW
Civic agencies as well as people need to be extra vigilant and check mosquito breeding grounds on an urgent basis. Civic authorities should not only carry out extensive anti-mosquito activities like fogging and anti-larvae spraying, but also make people aware that they should check accumulation of water in and around their houses and vicinity.