CHENNAI: With the monsoon lurking around the corner, the city corporation expects a rise in dengue and malaria cases in the coming weeks. The civic body’s dedicated wing -- Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs) -- will swing back into action next week onwards, after a brief hiatus.
The workers had been deployed for door-to-door survey and fever screening, during the past four months, as part of Covid-19 containment work. “As many as 2,000 DBCs will now return to vector control work, and a total of 3,400 workers will be deployed across the city to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. The city has 2,100 sectors and each sector has 500 houses. One worker will be deployed per sector,” corporation’s public health officials said.
Officials added that symptoms related to mosquito-borne diseases were being reported at fever camps recently. “Many people from corporation zone 4 and 5, who had high fever and body aches, reported of high mosquito breeding in their locality,’’ an official said.
The city reported over 400 dengue cases last year, of which 80 were from zones in north Chennai. Earlier this year, the civic body identified 30 breeding spots in the city, with most of them being in north Chennai, again. “Most people there do not have borewells and closed tanks.
They store water in drums and open tanks which leads to mosquito breeding,’’ the official added. Meanwhile, the civic body said there would not be a crunch in the ongoing Covid-related works, with DBCs being pulled out. “We have close to 5,000 volunteers, and will hire more, if need be,’’ an official said.
2,000 DBCs
DBCs will swing back to action next week onwards. As many as 2,000 DBCs will return to vector control work and a total of 3,400 workers will be deployed