Unhealthy lifestyles make people susceptible to falling victim to several diseases, more imminently to vector borne diseases like dengue and malaria. With the onset of Monsoon, mosquito menace is a common phenomenon in the city.Dengue is biggest threat in Asian countries with no specific treatment for it so far, says District Malaria Officer A. Rambabu.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Rambabu said that with changing lifestyles, the people were inviting a number of health problems.
People are excessively dependent on air conditioners and air coolers which bestow on the mosquitoes right climatic conditions to breed in large numbers. Citizens neither have time to keep their surroundings clean, not clear the stagnated water. “The worst is they do not even intimate the Municipal Corporation of such a problem for getting the solution,” he lamented. The flower pots, plant saucers, jars, and tyres are the haven for mosquitoes, which can lay up to 200 eggs in an ounce of water at a time, he points out.
A mosquito bite invites malaria, dengue, JE and other diseases. And, to eliminate the mosquitoes, they use all kinds of repellents, oils, balms, coils and sprays.
These repellents cause respiratory problems like bronchitis, in the long run. The mosquito coils, vaporisers likewise, aggravate asthma. The diseases will have serious repercussions on victim's family and on economic state of society at large. The diseases weaken economic and social status of the victim, he explains.
Mr. Rambabu feels that more urbanisation was leading to more problems. The vector borne diseases are hardly found in rural areas. Vijayawada in Krishna district had the highest number of vector-borne diseases as in urban areas, it was sheer negligence of people, and changing lifestyles that upped the ante. They do not even inform about fever cases in the neighbourhood to the authorities concerned. They don't even allow the authorities to take up anti malaria operations within their houses.
Had it been in cities like New Delhi, they would end up paying penalties for not keeping their surroundings clean, he says. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has launched a toll free number ‘1800 425 2000' to register fever cases.
The authorities provide medicines at door step. But, hardly anyone takes full course. In fact, the health assistants share their lunch packs with victim so as to ensure that he or she took medicine, he adds.
