Container survey starts in Noida, Sunday tally at 17

Noida: With the number of

dengue cases

crossing the 200-mark, the

health department

has started container surveys in several places across the district. On Sunday, 17 new cases were recorded in Noida, taking this year’s tally to 210, which is the highest in the past 10 years.

As part of the survey, officials will check for

mosquito breeding grounds

and open containers in which water might get collected.

Recently, an extensive survey was conducted in the urban areas of Jewar and

anti-larvae solution

was sprayed. Officials said 32 people have been sent notices in Chhalera and Barola areas after mosquito breeding was found on their premises. The drive was conducted after local people said several dengue cases had been detected in the locality.

“Recently, we sent a team for inspection and while several fever cases have been detected, no dengue cases were confirmed from these places. But we have conducted an extensive survey to check if people have kept open containers outside their houses where water was getting collected. We also got

fogging

done by the nagar panchayat,” said Rajesh Sharma, the district malaria officer.

Officials said no clusters have been identified so far and the maximum number of cases reported from a particular area stands at six. “The case density is six at some places in Chhalera. The other cases are spread across the city and no area can be identified as a hotspot. When there are several cases in an area, we conduct a survey and fogging,” Sharma added.

He said mosquitoes that spread dengue usually fly within a kilometre of where they breed. “People must maintain personal hygiene and should not allow water to get collected in any open container. If people don’t let mosquitoes breed, then the spread of vector-borne diseases can be controlled,” Sharma said.

He added that a survey of government premises will start soon and officials will check if buildings and their surroundings are clean and if open containers are lying outdoors.