HYDERABAD: With monsoon just a few weeks away, a meeting will be held on controlling vector-borne diseases with focus on nine districts of Telangana, particularly the tribal areas, from where 71 per cent of vector-borne disease patients hail.
The meeting, to be held here on Wednesday, will be chaired by health minister C Laxma Reddy and attended by the collectors, district medical and health officers (DMHO) and district malaria officers (DMO).
The nine districts are Adilabad, Komaram Bheem, Mancherial, Nirmal, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Mahabubabad, Khammam and Nagarkurnool.
Most of the funds earmarked for controlling vector-borne diseases will be allotted to the districts. At the meeting, officials will be told to give wide publicity to the free diagnosis and treatment facilities available at government clinics. Weekly surveillance of malaria, control of mosquitoes, anti-larvae operations, identification of mosquito-breeding grounds and clearing them and other preventive measures will also be discussed. The feasibility of dengue fever wards in area hospitals will be explored.
“Since the nine districts have large chunks of tribal population, the focus will be on them. The erstwhile districts of Khammam and Adilabad are prone to malaria and dengue,” said Dr S Prabhavati, additional director, National Vector Disease Control Programme, Telangana.
Since the occurrence of vector-borne diseases is more during monsoon as water stagnates at many places. These provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Residual spraying at homes will begin on June 1.
Close to 4.9 lakh insecticide-treated bed nets will be sent by the central government soon for distribution to homes where one malarial case per 1,000 population is reported.