4&4 STEP CONTROL OF DENGUE

It is heartening to see many institutes have taken interest in controlling Dengue. It will be very profitable if all get onto a single plan and mode of action and work hand in hand.

Actually if only the housewives can be persuaded to take the responsibility of making sure there are no breeding place for mosquitoes by and by  the mosquitos will die. This can be done by the housewives  in 4 steps.

1. Declare Sunday 10 am as National Anti-Dengue Hour. Since the eggs of the mosquitoes take at least 10 days to hatch checking  once a week regularly will prevent them from breeding.

The whole nation must take interest in making sure to inspect the house premises and the gardens to check for possible dengue breeding places. A check list chart similar to the following to be used in every household every Sunday.

Place	Wk1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Vases
Pots and trays
Fridge tray
Gutters
Kitchen
Pet feeds
Shower tray
Bird bath
Garbage

 

2. Garbage disposal into a covered container, either a compost bin, old bucket or even a pit but keep covered. The government can issue free compost bin to every household or give at a concessionary price. The housewives to be educated to put in ALL THE PERISHABLE  GARBAGE  into containers so that they are not lying around to collect water.  It is good that they are already segregating NON PERISHABLES  separately and handing over to the garbage collectors.
3. To encourage planting and growing  mosquito repellant plants such as maduru thala, sera, mint, vinka ( mini mal) in every household, in pots, milk packet bags or on the ground. Plant these even on the roadsides.
4. To set up mosquito  traps as follows:

Boil one cup of water with half a cup of sugar until all the sugar is dissolved;  let it cool; add half a teaspoon of yeast and pour into the prepared plastic  bottles as follows. Wrap them in newspapers or dark papers and leave them around the house and in the garden in shady areas; these attract the

 

 

The state must take 4 steps:

 

1. Daily reminders in the  Mass media –in TV, Radio, newspapers for the housewives to keep their surrounding mosquito free.
2. Dengue detection team- train them to educate and assist  the house holders in a friendly manner  to  keep a  mosquito  free environment
3. Printing simple, easy to read  leaflets in all three  languages and distributing to each and every household  through municipality workers  and paste Posters all over the island reminding of the responsibility of every citizens to help curb dengue.
4. Lane to lane meetings of housewives to encourage the activities

 

 

Sent by:

Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai,

23A, Auburn side, Dehiwela

Phone 0777707775