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Health dept plans to put Guppy on the job
TO TACKLE the menace of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) that claimed hundreds of lives last year in the State, the Health Department officials here are going to take the help of fishes to stop the disease from spreading. Some 50,000 fishes of Gumbisia and Guppy species are to be released in various ponds of the city. Also, plans are afoot to stops pigs from wandering on the streets from the first week of July.
TO TACKLE the menace of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) that claimed hundreds of lives last year in the State, the Health Department officials here are going to take the help of fishes to stop the disease from spreading. Some 50,000 fishes of Gumbisia and Guppy species are to be released in various ponds of the city.
Also, plans are afoot to stops pigs from wandering on the streets from the first week of July.
But there’s a catch. The Health Department and Municipal Corporation officials have no official count of the number of ponds in the city and its suburbs.
The health department has ordered 5,000 Gumbisia and Guppy fishes. These fish would be purchased and the fisheries department would be asked to keep these fishes till they multiply to 50,000. These fish eat the larvae of Culex, Titramorunkas and Culex Vishnoi species of mosquitoes. These three species are considered as carriers of JE virus. The mosquitoes get the virus from pigs and is then transferred to humans.
But as of now officials are busy in counting number of ponds. To add to their woes is the fact that many densely populated areas in the city are converted into ponds due to water logging.
The planning and thinking process was spurred on after Health Department officials received a letter from Medical Health director B Nath on June 15. The letter reminded the officials that Kanpur is one of the sensitive cities of the State, where like last year, JE could wreck havoc.
To contain pigs, health officials also claimed to have found a way out. Talking to the Hindustan Times, Additional chief medical officer and vector borne diseases incharge Madan Mohan said, “All pigs at every village would be counted with the help of the Municipal Corporation and in the city. From the first week of July, all pig owners will be asked to confine their animals in cages.” Dr Mohan also said, “In every pig cage, pesticide would be sprayed.” However, he accepted the fact that compliance of the government order — asking pigs to be kept in isolated places — was not possible here in the city. Also, according to CMO DR VS Singh, another IgM ELISA kit would be made available at the Regional Diagnostic Health Centre of UHM Hospital. One is already installed at the microbiology Department of GSVM Medical College and the second one to be installed soon in the city.
To add to it, the health department is going to launch a vigorous publicity campaign about JE.
For this, the health department would distribute pamphlets along with advertisements on radio, television and newspapers etc.
