There was a drop in malaria cases in Bardez last year, but the rise in dengue cases in the taluka in the same period has raised concerns.
According to official figures, the Primary Health Centres (PHC) and Urban Health Centres (UHC) in Bardez had recorded 621 malaria and 40 dengue cases in 2013.
Efforts, including anti-larval measures and educational programmes, undertaken by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) in 2014 succeeded in bringing down the malaria cases to 295, but the number of dengue cases rose to 69.
Deputy Director of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme Dr Sachin Govenkar said, “Dengue cases have reported a sharp rise and this is a matter of great concern. Dengue mosquitoes do not breed in drains, soak pits and dirty water, and not in large bodies like wells, tanks, where there is clean water. They breed in small containers like coconut shells, plastic bottles, plastic cups, etc. The health department cannot control dengue,” he said.
Dr Govenkar emphasised the importance of proper storage of water to control dengue cases. “It is the duty of the citizens to store water in mosquito-proof containers. Reduction in dengue cases is possible if water supply is regular and adequate, so that people are not forced to store water. But if people are forced to store water, it should be in mosquito-proof containers,” said Dr Govenkar.
Govenkar confirmed that there has been a decline in malaria cases in Bardez. “Nearly 90% of the cases are reported at construction sites. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of builders to ensure that migrant labourers are issued with health cards and cleanliness is maintained,” said Dr Govenkar.
Aldona PHC Health Officer Dr Maria Sequeira said there had been a drop in malaria cases in Porvoim and Aldona constituencies, mainly due to various measures adopted by the Aldona PHC.
“We also penalized contractors for violating the health rules. Besides, a surveillance team from the Malaria Clinic at Porvorim visited houses and collected blood samples of residents suffering from fever, to find out whether they had malaria,” Dr Sequeira added.
According to health officials, health centres in Bardez taluka issued a total of 14,496 new health cards and imposed fines of Rs 4.71 lakh on those contractors/builders found violating health rules.
