PUNE: Some of the upscale localities in Aundh-Baner, Ghole Road-Shivajinagar, Dhole Patil Road and Ahmednagar Road-Wadgaonsheri ward limits have been hit hardest by dengue this year, the latest report of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has revealed.
The dengue cases gripped all the 16 municipal ward limits across the city by early August, with the infection reaching its peak by September in the wake of the extended monsoon, intermittent spells, rainwater accumulation and poor upkeep of the city.
The cases started declining once the October heat set in, experts said.
Private hospitals (2,254 cases) and government-designated sentinel (463 cases) centres have collectively registered 2,717 dengue cases this year so far. The PMC areas had recorded almost 3,000 dengue cases last year. Among them, the maximum 2,477 cases were recorded during the post-monsoon period from September and December.
“Citizens living in the housing societies in the upmarket areas have been badly hit by dengue this year. In a sizable number of these housing societies, the breeding spots of the dengue-causing mosquito was found on the premises. In many cases, such breeding spots were found inside the houses of the dengue-infected residents,” Sanjeev Wavre, head of the PMCs’s insect control department, said.
PMC stepped up the measures to destroy breeding spots on a war footing from June this year. “Citizens should also do their bit to keep their surroundings clean,” Wavre said.
Besides destroying mosquito-breeding sites, developing a mechanism to keep mid-city rivers flowing and hyacinth-free would also help keep the city mosquito-free, the experts said.
“Rivers that flow through the city need utmost upkeep to keep them flowing. Stagnation of water due to accumulating hyacinth or low water depth resulting from the accumulation of silt can result in water stagnation, which provides conducive ground for mosquito breeding,” said health activist and medical practitioner Abhijit More.
Filling up vacant posts of entomologists/biologists and sanitary inspectors is also the key to contain the diseases. “Besides, they need to rope in either an adequate number of permanent or contractual staff for identifying mosquito breeding and destroying these sites during the dengue transmission period between June and October,” More said.
Most-hit ward areas
An analysis of the ward-wise distribution of dengue cases has revealed that the residents of Ghole Road-Shivajinagar, Nagar Road-Wadgaonsheri, Yerawada-Kalas Dhanori, Dhankawdi-Sahakaragar, Hadapsar-Mundhwa, Kasba-Vishrambaugwada, Aundh-Baner and Tilak Road-Sinhagad Road have been worst affected by the mosquito-borne diseases this year.
PMC officials have intensified surveillance and prevention measures in these wards.
