KMC to highlight disease prevention measures at meeting in Delhi

Atin Ghosh, member, Mayor in council (Health) and Dr Debasis Biswas, chief vector control officer would go to Delhi to attend the meeting called by Dr AC Dhariwal, director National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the ministry of health. It may be recalled that in 2015, the ministry had lauded the KMC for the measures taken to prevent the spread of the diseases.

The KMC’s health department will hold the administrative meeting of boroughs 13, 14 and 15 on Saturday, where the steps taken to prevent the spread of malaria and dengue are discussed at length. Apart from the senior officials of the health department, officials of the conservancy, solid waste management and building departments along with the field workers are present. The problems that often crop up to carry out the programme are resolved on the spot.

The KMC has chalked an elaborate programme to check the spread of malaria and dengue. The outbreak takes place at the end of monsoon. It may be recalled that vast areas of South Kolkata, particularly Bhowanipore and Kalighat had been declared malaria prone. 

There was not a single household in these areas in mid 1990s where a person had not been afflicted with malaria. After becoming Mayor in 2010, Sovan Chatterjee met senior officials of the health department and chalked out an elaborate programme to combat these diseases. The numbers of malaria and dengue cases from 2011 are on decline.

The high risk zones have been identified and anti larvae drives are conducted throughout the year. Now, the KMC has five Dengue detection centres. There are 22 Rapid Action teams comprising doctors, technicians and field workers to check the spread of vector borne diseases.

There are 7 to 15 staff per ward who visit every house to spray mosquito repellent along with 12 workers under 100 days work to assist them. The KMC staff collect blood samples which are tested at the Mosquito Research laboratory at Moulali.

The civic officials urged people to get their blood samples tested when they were found to be suffering from fever for three days and take medicines from KMC’s dispensary free of cost.

The dosage prescribed by the doctors in these dispensaries is in accordance with the instruction of World Health Organisation (WHO).