With the city registering three more new cases of Zika virus infection on Tuesday, the health department of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has urged people to observe a ‘dry day’ for at least one day.
A health department official explained the concept: “This would include emptying all containers and storage areas filled with water and keeping them dry for at least a day.”Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer, PMC, said, “The number of positive Zika virus cases in the city has now reached 15 and with this, we observed that the areas where we are detecting positive cases are heavy breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Many people are storing water, providing ideal conditions for mosquito breeding.
Therefore, people are urged to empty their water-filled containers for at least a day and observe a ‘dry day’ instead of storing water, as it leads to heavy breeding of Aedes aegypti.”He further added that most of the secondary or suspected cases identified in the last 15 days are within 100 metres of the breeding spots.
“Hence this step becomes necessary,” he stressed.
With the city registering three more new cases of Zika virus infection on Tuesday, the health department of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has urged people to observe a ‘dry day’ for at least one day.
A health department official explained the concept: “This would include emptying all containers and storage areas filled with water and keeping them dry for at least a day.”
Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer, PMC, said, “The number of positive Zika virus cases in the city has now reached 15 and with this, we observed that the areas where we are detecting positive cases are heavy breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Many people are storing water, providing ideal conditions for mosquito breeding. Therefore, people are urged to empty their water-filled containers for at least a day and observe a ‘dry day’ instead of storing water, as it leads to heavy breeding of Aedes aegypti.”
He further added that most of the secondary or suspected cases identified in the last 15 days are within 100 metres of the breeding spots. “Hence this step becomes necessary,” he stressed.
Regarding pregnant women who tested positive, Dr Dighe said, “All high-risk patients will be monitored not only until they test negative for the infection but also until they deliver their babies.”
When asked about whether the PMC health department recorded any case of co-infection, Dr Dighe said, “As of now, there have been no cases of co-infection reported, and awareness activities are ongoing in areas where Zika virus infections and breeding spots have been identified.”
