100 “hotspots” in North, 29 wards at high risk in South

A small room. Water has accumulated along its damp walls, creating a breeding ground for Aedes mosquito larvae. The room is located in the New Colony residential area of the National Housing Authority in Lalmatia, in the capital.

On Saturday morning, mosquito-control workers from the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) found Aedes mosquito larvae in stagnant water beside the room in the colony.

They then asked the residents to clean the area and sprayed insecticide there to destroy the larvae. Workers also found Aedes larvae at six other locations in the colony and destroyed them.

After verifying the addresses of dengue patients admitted to hospitals, the DNCC has identified 100 dengue hotspots in areas under Dhaka North City Corporation. The New Colony residential area of the National Housing Authority in DNCC Ward 32 is among them.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has identified 29 of its wards as high-risk areas for Aedes mosquito breeding and dengue. The DSCC is conducting a special campaign titled “Turn over, throw away, clean up or UFOP” in these high-risk areas.

A survey by the corporation found Aedes mosquito larvae in 63 of its 75 wards. The DSCC is also conducting special mosquito-control and cleanliness drives in these areas.

World Cleanup Day is being observed today, Sunday, 20 September. The main objective of the day is to raise awareness through cleanliness activities about waste removal, keeping the environment clean, and the sustainable management of waste and resources.

Cleanliness has an important connection with dengue prevention. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), discarded bottles, plastic containers, tyres, cans and other waste can collect water and create breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.

Therefore, preventing dengue requires not only spraying insecticides but also removing potential breeding sites and ensuring proper waste management.

According to DNCC sources, the corporation collected information on dengue patients admitted to hospitals in the capital between 15 July and 31 August.

It then analysed the concentration of infection sites based on the patients’ addresses and selected 100 hotspots.

A large proportion of the hotspots are located in Mirpur-Pallabi-Kafrul and Mohammadpur-Adabar-Shyamoli. The list includes Mirpur-2, Barabag, Monipur, 60 Feet, Mirpur-10, Rokeya Sarani, Paikpara, Tolarbagh, Ahmed Nagar, South Bishil, South Pallabi, Baunia and Kazipara-Sheorapara in Kafrul. Shekhertek, PC Culture, Shyamoli, Nabodoy and Baitul Aman Housing, Dhaka Uddyan, Basila, Katasur, Jafrabad and Rayerbazar in Mohammadpur are also among the hotspots.

Various areas stretching from Mohakhali-Banani-Gulshan-Korail to Badda, Rampura, Aftabnagar, Satarakul, Bhatara, Nurer Chala and Dumni are also on the list.

Various residential areas and construction sites in Uttara, Khilkhet, Nikunja, Diabari, Turag, Kamarpara, Rajabari, Dhour, Dakshinkhan and Ashkona have also been identified as hotspots.

An analysis of information on 1,678 dengue patients collected from hospitals found that Mirpur recorded the highest number of patients, at 607, accounting for 36.2 per cent of the total. Mohammadpur followed with 321 patients (19.1 per cent); Kachukhet, Ibrahimpur and the Cantonment area recorded 167 (9.9 per cent); Baunia 127 (7.6 per cent); Dakshinkhan 84 (5.1 per cent); Mohakhali 81 (3.8 per cent); Khilkhet 77 (3.6 per cent); Rayerbazar 89 (5.4 per cent); Kaola 97 (5.8 per cent); and Bashundhara 27 (1.6 per cent).

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), conducted a survey from 12 to 23 May on Aedes mosquito breeding sites.

The survey collected information from 2,250 houses. It identified 29 DSCC wards as high-risk areas. The wards nare: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 32, 36, 38, 52, 55, 56, 57, 62, 68, 70, 73 and 74.

These wards include various areas in Dhanmondi-Kalabagan-Shukrabad, Segunbagicha-Secretariat, Shahbagh-Paribagh-Banglamotor, Khilgaon-Basabo-Mugda, Lalbagh-Azimpur-Chawkbazar, Sutrapur-Kotwali in Old Dhaka, Jatrabari-Kadamtali-Kamrangirchar, and Demra-Sarulia-Dakshingaon-Nandipara.

The survey found the highest proportion of larvae, 35.23 per cent, in multi-storey buildings. Single-storey houses accounted for 27.76 per cent, buildings under construction 17.44 per cent, and semi-pucca houses 14.59 per cent.

Among the breeding sites, 12.26 per cent were found in stagnant water on floors, 10.34 per cent in buckets and 8.89 per cent in plastic drums.

The DNCC has launched the “100 out of 100” programme to destroy Aedes mosquito breeding sites in the 100 identified hotspots and prevent the spread of dengue.

Yesterday, Saturday morning, mosquito-control workers, sanitation workers, members of quick-response teams, Rover Scouts and trained volunteers divided into eight teams carried out the programme in the New Colony area of Lalmatia.

A visit with one of the teams to the New Colony residential area in Lalmatia’s “A” Block found team members checking houses and courtyards for places where water had accumulated.

They also checked containers holding stagnant water to determine whether they contained larvae.

When larvae were found, the team showed them to residents, explained what they needed to do and sprayed insecticide to destroy the larvae. When no larvae were found, the team emptied the water from the containers.

According to data from the DNCC’s Health Department, larvae were found at seven locations in New Colony yesterday, Saturday.

Across Ward 32, the team inspected 63 premises and found Aedes larvae at 42 of them. In Ward 30 of Mohammadpur, the team inspected 51 premises and found larvae at 36.

Shekhertek in Mohammadpur is among the areas on the hotspot list. Tony Chiran, an official of a private development organisation who lives on Road 4, said his daughter, Ribbanchi Richil, contracted dengue last month.

After she recovered, his wife, Chimuk Richil, also fell ill. Although multiple tests did not detect dengue, her platelet count fell below 50,000. She later had to be admitted to hospital.

Brigadier General Imrul Kayes Chowdhury, chief health officer of Dhaka North City Corporation, told Prothom Alo, “Our aim is to raise public awareness. We want to teach ordinary people where environments conducive to Aedes mosquito breeding have developed. We need to ensure that such places do not emerge and that larvae cannot breed.”

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is conducting a special campaign titled “UFOP” in high-risk areas to prevent the spread of dengue. The programme takes its name from the initial letters of three actions: “Turn over, throw away and clean”.

Under the programme, students are being taught to turn over and clean any containers or structures where water has accumulated and where Aedes mosquitoes could lay eggs.

The DSCC has also introduced a special cleanliness drive and “Cleaning Day” every Saturday across its 75 wards. The programme will continue for the next three months.

As part of the initiative, workers are removing stagnant water, destroying Aedes larvae, carrying out larviciding and adulticiding, and clearing waste and rubbish from residential areas, roads, alleys, drains, open channels, buildings under construction, parking areas, rooftops and abandoned structures.

The DSCC is organising awareness rallies in all 75 wards to involve citizens in dengue prevention.

Officials and employees of the city corporation, mosquito-control workers, sanitation workers and local residents are taking part in the rallies.

Jahane Ferdous Binte Rahman, chief health officer of the DSCC, said the dengue situation had changed in August because of changes in weather, resulting in a rise in the number of infections.

However, she said the city corporation was conducting the “Cleaning Day” every Saturday alongside its regular dengue-control activities.

She added that schools were being given particular attention under the UFOP programme and said greater public awareness was also necessary.

From January to July this year, 15,310 people contracted dengue in Bangladesh, while 54 died during the period.

The situation deteriorated in August, however, with the number of infections rising to 35,846 in a single month. The month also recorded 97 deaths.

Up to 19 September this year, 24,533 dengue patients had been admitted to hospitals. So far this month, 81 people have died from the disease. Overall, 60,379 people have been admitted to hospitals with dengue in Bangladesh this year, while 178 have died.

Experts had expressed concern over the rising trend in infections. Public health specialists and entomologists had identified the last week of September to early October as a possible "peak" period for dengue.

Kabirul Bashar, professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University and an entomologist, told Prothom Alo, “The data from May that Dhaka South City is using to tackle the current dengue situation will not be very effective. To understand the current situation, hotspots must be identified by tracking patients individually. Dhaka North City cannot simply identify hotspots either. It needs to carry out mosquito-control activities rapidly and in a coordinated manner. Wherever breeding sites are found, mosquitoes must be controlled not only by destroying the larvae but also by fogging.”