THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dr Kalpana Baruah, joint-director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) and dengue nodal officer on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the level of community participation in vector control measures in the state. At a review meeting held here, the central expert said the alarming increase in dengue cases were because of the lack of community participation in mosquito eradication and vector control activities in the state.
She said the drastic climactic changes in the state had also contributed to the increase in dengue cases and other communicable diseases. After a severe drought the state had experienced heavy rains during the initial phase of south west monsoon. According to her, sources reduction was the most effective method of bringing down vector borne diseases. The three day cleanliness drive launched by the government had not yielded the desired results.
She would be visiting Corporation on Friday to review the situation in the city and the adjoining areas from where large number of dengue cases are being reported on a daily basis. The health officials made a presentation on the dengue situation in the state. Apart from Baruah, another group of experts including NCDC epidemiologist Dr Praveen and entomologist Dr Rajendran are also reviewing the situation here.
The experts have called for stringent vector control measures and wider participation of people at the household level. It was pointed out that the pre monsoon cleaning activities had not been carried out effectively which compounded the problem this year.
