The Deccan Chronicle 14.12.2010
Fumigation not enough to kill adult mosquitoesDec. 13: With adult mosquitoes buzzing around happily even after fumigation, the Chennai corporation’s battle against the health menace has come a cropper. Health officials of the corporation are now awaiting the expert advice from Indian Council of Medical Research to control breeding of mosquitoes.
The corporation commissioner, Mr D. Karthikeyan, said though larvae and young mosquitoes die during fogging, the adults had developed resistance to drugs. “To control larvae breeding, intensified fumigation is carried out on a regular basis,” he said. “Besides, daily fogging is also done in the areas prone to mosquito menace.”
However, these strategies have not had much effect. Corporation officials are also disappointed at the lack of public participation in fighting against the mosquito menace. “Around 40 percent of mosquito breeding can be arrested if the public destroys the temporary breeding sources for mosquitoes such as tyres, coconut shells, and plastic vessels that are found lying in residential areas,” said an official.
A senior biologist of the state forest department said the ecological imbalance in Chennai was also a reason for the mosquito menace. “Frogs and several species of fishes have become extinct from Cooum and Buckhingham canal,” he said. “They feed on mosquito larvae and their absence allows the larvae population to surge.”
Meanwhile, the commissioner said he would also consider alternative procedures for studying mosquito density in the city.
