The Hindu 19.02.2015
Mosquito threat persists, yet no entomologists
Two entomologists deputed to Corporation temporarily
Siddha concoction ‘Nilavembu Kashayam’ being distributed to the public
at RTO office, Madurai Central, on Wednesday.— Photo: S. James
Madurai Corporation seems to be sitting on a huge risk
in the absence of a permanent entomology wing at a time when dengue
fever is posing a severe challenge to public health authorities.
Even
though the city’s population is over 15 lakh and the number of wards
has gone up to 100, there is not a single entomologist on its rolls.
As
a temporary measure, two entomologists have been deputed to the
corporation to assist in scientific study of mosquito density at various
locations and recommend mosquito control measures to prevent disease
outbreak.
R. Varadharajan, an assistant lecturer in
medical entomology at Madurai Medical College, who is on deputation to
the corporation, said a separate entomological team was urgently needed
to continuously monitor mosquito density. Stating that a permanent team
would augur well for the city, he, however, claimed that mosquito
control activity was in no way hampered as the health wing was managing
well with available manpower and infrastructure.
Corporation sources told
The Hindu
on Wednesday that a proposal to get government sanction for the posts of entomologists was yet to be forwarded to Chennai.
“The
file is still lying in our establishment section. We require one senior
entomologist, four junior entomologists and 16 field assistants. When
such a specialised wing is available in Chennai corporation, why not in
Madurai,” a senior official said. Right now, the Madurai Corporation
gets entomologists from other districts on deputation whenever there is a
fever outbreak-like situation. An official confided that the rural
areas were well equipped to fight mosquito-borne diseases than the
corporation since the Directorate of Public Health had specialised
manpower to tackle outbreaks in rural pockets.
S.
Senthilkumar, Deputy Director of Health Services, said entomologists
were crucial for any local body because they were technically equipped
to analyse and prevent vector-borne diseases.