Dhaka’s dengue situation above danger level before season begins: DGHS
DGHS survey says
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The dengue situation has crossed the acceptable limit much before the dengue season is set to begin in the city, according to a survey of the health directorate on Tuesday.
The density of Aedes mosquito larvae in 18 wards of two city corporations in the capital has been found to be above 20 in the Breteau index (BI), the pre-season Aedes Survey-2024 of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
The pre-monsoon survey was conducted from April 17 to 27 under the National Malaria Elimination & Aedes Transmitted Diseases Control programme of DGHS.
The BI index, which measures the density of Aedes mosquito larvae, is known as the gross index.
A generally accepted method of measuring the density of Aedes mosquito larvae is the 'gross index' criterion. If the larval density exceeds 20 per cent, it means that the situation is out of control.
Out of the 99 wards of the two cities surveyed, 18 have a gross index of more than 20. This means that more than 20 containers out of 100 of these areas have mosquitoes or larvae. These areas are at high risk of dengue.
The wards at risk in Dhaka North City Corporation areas are wards No. 12, 13, 20, 36, 31, 32, 17, 33. And the dangerous wards of Dhaka South City Corporation are - 4, 13, 52, 54, 16, 3, 5, 15, 17, 23 wards.
DGHS said that Ward No. 12 is most at risk in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC). Wards 13 and 20 are next.
Also, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has the highest BI index in Ward No. 13, followed by Ward No. 4, ward No. 52 and Ward 54.
The DGHS has been conducting three surveys every year in the two city corporations’ areas - pre-season, season and post-season.
As a part of that, the survey programme was conducted by 21 teams of experienced entomologists from the DGHS. The survey was conducted by 21 teams in 99 wards in DNCC and DSCC. A total of 3152 houses were surveyed in 99 wards in ten days.
Aedes mosquito larvae and pupae were found in 463 houses out of 3,152 houses surveyed. 42.33 per cent of them are multi-story buildings.