20 teams of Municipal Corporation Gurugram formed to create awareness about vector borne diseases

The step has been taken as the number of suspected cases of Chikungunya and Dengue are on the rise and there have been several confirmed cases of Malaria in the city

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Saturday formed 20 teams to create awareness and help reduce larvae breeding of mosquitoes causing vector borne diseases at source, officials said, adding the operation will start from next week.

The MCG teams will spread awareness about vector borne diseases including Dengue and Chikungunya. (HT File)

The teams will get training from the health department officials on Monday regarding Dengue and other vector borne diseases.

The step has been taken as the number of suspected cases of Chikungunya and Dengue are on the rise and there have been several confirmed cases of Malaria in the city.

“We will provide support to the MCG teams and will also share our identified spots with them which are hot beds for larvae breeding. We already have our team working on the same issue. Though we have not received any confirmed cases of Dengue this year, however, we do not want to take any chances,” said Dr. BK Rajora, chief medical officer, Civil Hospital said.

Apart from the 20 teams, the MCG will also deploy five ‘three-wheelers’ with loudspeakers to make announcements and spread more awareness.

The identified 20 teams will be creating door to door awareness and will also scan through the house to spot any larvae breeding.

The steps are being taken to make Haryana a malaria free state.

Last week, MCG also launched anti-fogging helpline numbers -1800-180-1817 and 0124-2222465 which are functional from 9am to 5pm.

The district administration had also launched a drive last month in which various teams visited schools in the city to spread awareness about Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya.

Last year, the city recorded a three-year high in the number of dengue cases, with the district health department registering 401 cases. Also, 38 cases of malaria were reported in 2016.