Anti-dengue drive starts in Chennai

CHENNAI : The city was brought under the blanket cover of an intensified anti-dengue fogging drive on Thursday, following a dengue outbreak in the southern districts of the State. Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy launched the drive by the Chennai Corporation at Varadharajapettai in Egmore.
According to a health officer with Chennai Corporation, fogging will be done in the 200 wards of the city on two selected days every week.
“Fogging is planned between 5 am and 7 am on Tuesdays, and 5 pm and 7 pm on Thursdays in every nook and cranny of Chennai. We chose these specific times because the dengue causing mosquito, Aedes,is very active two hours before sunrise and sunset,” the official stated.
Asked about the spread of the disease in the city, the official said that things were under control with only a single-digit number of dengue cases reported.
“We are screening passengers from the south of Tamil Nadu visiting Chennai. Special medical teams have been deployed at Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal at Koyembedu, and Central and Egmore railway stations for the last three days,” the health officer said.
A press release from the Corporation said that 153 hand fogging machines, 53 big fogging machines and 125 vehicles had been engaged for the intensified fogging operations to effectively control the spread of dengue. Pointing out that unused manual stone grinders, coconut shells, tyres and plastic materials were breeding grounds for mosquitoes, the release urged people to remove such materials from their households.
Those who have had  symptoms of flu, body ache and joint ache for more than three days must approach government and corporation hospitals for treatment, the release said.

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