State readies for communicable disease control drive from April 1
Individuals or organisations found not taking precautions to prevent mosquito breeding, such as not cleaning stagnated water, will be acted against, it has been decided.
The campaign to control communicable diseases beginning April 1 in the state will focus on curbing not only H3N2, but also meningitis, the state government said on Saturday.
Individuals or organisations found not taking precautions to prevent mosquito breeding, such as not cleaning stagnated water, will be acted against, it has been decided. A door-to-door campaign will also be conducted to make people aware about various illnesses, said the press statement.
The guidelines for the campaign have been issued by Neha Sharma, the director of the directorate of urban bodies.
The campaign aims to make people aware about infectious diseases such as encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya, malaria and kala-azar in all 75 districts of the state from April 1. The communicable disease control campaign is conducted in three phases every year. This year, the campaign’s first phase will end on April 30.
“Involving multiple departments/bodies in the campaign will ensure that maximum population is covered,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general of the Association of International Doctors.
As per the guidelines, elected public representatives of urban bodies and mohalla monitoring committees (MMCs) will be informed about cases of meningitis and other vector-borne and water-borne diseases as well as diseases related to hot weather (heat related) in their respective areas.
“Fogging will be done in urban areas (all bodies). Sensitization activities will be conducted at high-risk areas identified by the health department. Legal action will be taken against persons/institutions found responsible for harbouring conditions favourable for mosquito breeding on their premises,” said the press statement.
Tests will also be conducted to check the quality of drinking water.