Pune: After close to 25 residents of Karishma and Pushpakant housing societies in Erandwane were infected by dengue, local BJP corporator Manjusha Khardekar has demanded that fogging and spraying be started in the area.
However, the civic body has claimed that citizens are reluctant to follow instructions issued by the Health Department. Some employees of PMC’s Health Department claimed that residents staying in plush areas do not allow PMC employees to enter their premises to conduct indoor surveys or carry out fumigation.
Speaking to Sakal Times, Khardekar said, “Most dengue patients were reported from Karishma Society. However, the administration has done nothing to identify mosquito breeding spots. They have not conducted awareness programmes in this area so far. Spraying and fogging has not even started.”
She claimed that PMC officials say there is a ban on fogging, though it is the most effective tool to tackle dengue.
Meanwhile, Dr Sanjeev Wavare, Assistant Medical Officer, said, “The PMC has started an awareness programme and is also conducting meetings. Notices are being slapped against property owners where mosquito breeding spots are found. Spraying is being carrying out in the city, but fogging will be done in areas where positive cases are registered.”
He said, “Dengue is man-made disease. So people have to take care of that. In big societies, people don’t allow our employees to spray and check for breeding spots.”
Sudhir Naik, a resident of Pushpakant Society, said, “More than 20 residents of Karishma and Pushpakant societies have suffered from dengue. The corporation must use fogging to stop breeding of mosquitoes.”
The PMC initiated an awareness programme in June across the city by circulating pamphlets and sticking bills in public places. A Health Department official added that pre- and post- monsoon, the dengue menace increases. Following the dengue cases being reported, employees of the Health Department will carry out home visits, collect samples of probable mosquito breeding spots and send them for laboratory test. “If we get positive results, breeding spots are destroyed and fogging is carried out indoor and outdoor,” he said.
Dengue is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of the four dengue virus serotypes. It is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults with symptoms appearing 3 to 14 days after the infective bite. It is not transmitted directly from person-to-person and symptoms range from mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There is no vaccine or any specific medicine to treat dengue.