The Hindu       18.07.2016 

Is there a link between water supply & dengue?

Is there a co-relationship between irregular water
supply and outbreak of dengue? The District Health Office thinks so and
has urged the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to ensure regular water
supply to certain localities to remove the need to store it as it could
lead to breeding of mosquitoes and outbreak of dengue.

Senior officials in the Health Department told
The Hindu
that one of the factors for the rise in dengue cases in the city could
be attributed to the storage of water in large but open containers due
to irregular supply.

“Citizens are forced to store
water in plastic vessels, cement tubs and in various other containers
and these containers have become a breeding place for mosquitoes,” said
the officials.

Department officials, who went around
the city educating people about the dos and don’ts and the imperatives
of reducing water storage, were told of the practical difficulties faced
by them as water supply is irregular.

“People ask us
to supply drinking water every day if they have to stop storing the
water in containers such as plastic vessels and cement tubs,” the
official added.

S. Chidambara, District Vector Borne diseases control officer, told
The Hindu
that the practice of storing water was widely prevalent in Hebbal,
Shanthinagar, Kalyanagiri, Udayagiri, Ghousia Nagar etc. which,
incidentally, are also the places which are susceptible to the outbreak
of dengue.

Meanwhile, the Health department had
written to the MCC to supply water particularly to these areas on
alternative days at least till September as the chances of outbreak of
epidemiology diseases would be high during the interim period.

The
Health Department said that it would be difficult to prevent the spread
of the disease until regular water supply is ensured.