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In search of breeding spots
By Ayesha Inoon
Having claimed over 24 lives this year alone, the Dengue menace is very real and terrifying. The fact that the majority of cases can be avoided by simply keeping the environment clean is a message that the community has yet to absorb, as is apparent by the 3,632 cases of Dengue patients that were reported this year, between January and September.

In an intensive bid to educate the public on Dengue prevention as well as arrest the spread of the carrier mosquito, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Colombo Municipal Council have launched a programme that involves volunteers visiting homes, examining the surroundings and identifying possible breeding spots.

Launched on August 15, the programme will be in operation for three months and is targeted at areas where the highest numbers of Dengue cases have been reported, such as Kelaniya, Mahara, and Biyagama.

In the Colombo district, the operation will cover the Nugegoda, Maharagama, Kolonnawa, Moratuwa, and Dehiwala areas as well as the Colombo City limits.
A number of volunteers have been allocated to each district, and their activities are co-ordinated and monitored by the staff of the Ministry of Health, the Red Cross Branches, the Medical Officer of Health and the Public Health Inspectors.

The volunteers, who are from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society as well as the Ministry of Health, have undergone a thorough training programme, which teaches them how to identify potential breeding sites, the remedial action to be taken, as well as the hazards of the disease itself.

Working approximately two days a week, their target is for each volunteer to cover approximately 250 houses a month. With the residents’ permission, they look at the garden as well as the interior of the home. When they identify a problem spot, they either remedy it immediately, ask the tenants to do so as soon as possible, or report it to the Public Health Inspector of the area.

After three weeks, a second check is done to make sure that the problem areas have been eliminated. At the end of three months, a sticker of approval will be issued to homes that are completely clear of potential breeding sites.
The volunteers say that the response from the public has been satisfactory on the whole, with most people being receptive to their suggestions.

They also add that despite the widespread publicity that has been given to methods of preventing Dengue, many homes still have obvious mosquito breeding articles, such as coconut shells and yoghurt cups as well as water collecting in shrubs and plants in the garden.

Since the mosquito can breed in as little as a teaspoon of water, and the eggs have a survival period of about one and a half years, even without water, one cannot be too careful, they add.

Dr. Lasantha Kodituwakku, Programme Officer, Health, of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, says that if the need arises, they hope to eventually recruit permanent volunteers who will have a greater responsibility towards the task, and who will be able to perform continuous home checks through the year. He adds that The Red Cross Movement is willing to provide continuous funding for such a programme.

It is the public who must get involved to stop the spread of the epidemic, he stresses. If each individual is able to be aware of his surroundings and keep it free of potential mosquito breeding sites, the disease will soon be under control.

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