Dengue and Chikungunya are totally preventable diseases
Dengue, Chikungunya as well as Malaria and Filaria are mosquito-borne
diseases and are totally preventable.
Here are some salient points to remember about their prevention.
• Malaria is transmitted via the bite of a female Anopheles spp mosquito, which occurs mainly between dusk and dawn. It may rarely spread as a congenitally-acquired disease or via blood transfusion, sharing of contaminated needles and organ transplantation.
• The Dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti) bites in the day time.
• The Aedes Dengue mosquito has up to 3 meals in a day, while the malaria mosquito has 1 meal in three days. Malaria may infect only one person in the family; on the other hand, dengue mosquito will infect more than one member in the family in the same day.
• Malaria fever often presents with chills and rigors. If fever presents with joint and muscle pains, suspect Chikungunya.
• The Dengue mosquitoes may also breed inside houses in fresh collected water; hence, insecticide spraying, in response to dengue outbreaks, is not highly effective. Water should not be allowed to collect inside the house for more than a week. Mosquito cycle takes 7-12 days to complete and if any water collected utensils is scrubbed cleaned properly once in a week, there are no chances of mosquito breeding.
• Collection of water in and around the house can occur in flower pots, uncovered water tanks on the terrace, bird drinking pots, broken tires, broken glasses, water coolers or any container where water can stay for 7 days.
• Education of the public about discarding tires and other containers that accumulate standing water has shown promise in reducing breeding sites.
• Using mosquito nets/repellents in the night may not prevent dengue the mosquito bites during day time. Wearing full sleeves shirt and trousers can prevent the mosquito from biting the body during the day.
• Both malaria and dengue mosquito do not produce noise. Therefore, mosquitoes which produce noise do not cause diseases.
• There are no vaccines for malaria and dengue.
• Comprehensive community and governmental control strategy, including the seeding of water vessels with copepods that feed on mosquito larvae, is successful in eliminating A. aegypti and dengue transmission.
Here are some salient points to remember about their prevention.
• Malaria is transmitted via the bite of a female Anopheles spp mosquito, which occurs mainly between dusk and dawn. It may rarely spread as a congenitally-acquired disease or via blood transfusion, sharing of contaminated needles and organ transplantation.
• The Dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti) bites in the day time.
• The Aedes Dengue mosquito has up to 3 meals in a day, while the malaria mosquito has 1 meal in three days. Malaria may infect only one person in the family; on the other hand, dengue mosquito will infect more than one member in the family in the same day.
• Malaria fever often presents with chills and rigors. If fever presents with joint and muscle pains, suspect Chikungunya.
• The Dengue mosquitoes may also breed inside houses in fresh collected water; hence, insecticide spraying, in response to dengue outbreaks, is not highly effective. Water should not be allowed to collect inside the house for more than a week. Mosquito cycle takes 7-12 days to complete and if any water collected utensils is scrubbed cleaned properly once in a week, there are no chances of mosquito breeding.
• Collection of water in and around the house can occur in flower pots, uncovered water tanks on the terrace, bird drinking pots, broken tires, broken glasses, water coolers or any container where water can stay for 7 days.
• Education of the public about discarding tires and other containers that accumulate standing water has shown promise in reducing breeding sites.
• Using mosquito nets/repellents in the night may not prevent dengue the mosquito bites during day time. Wearing full sleeves shirt and trousers can prevent the mosquito from biting the body during the day.
• Both malaria and dengue mosquito do not produce noise. Therefore, mosquitoes which produce noise do not cause diseases.
• There are no vaccines for malaria and dengue.
• Comprehensive community and governmental control strategy, including the seeding of water vessels with copepods that feed on mosquito larvae, is successful in eliminating A. aegypti and dengue transmission.
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