Churachandpur: A mass source-reduction and dengue awareness campaign was held today at Peace Ground, Tuibong, and five other locations. Ten Source Reduction Teams (SRTs), comprising medical doctors, nurses, staff of the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NCVBDCP) and ASHA workers, conducted awareness activities and practical demonstrations under the supervision of District Malaria Officer Dr. Liangoumuan Samte.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ph. Henkhoneng Mate led the campaign at Peace Ground, where she outlined measures residents can take to reduce mosquito breeding sites. She advised routinely emptying standing water from buckets, flowerpots, pet water dishes, discarded bottles and cans.
Dr. Mate also urged people to keep drums, tanks and other domestic water-storage containers tightly covered with lids or fine mesh to prevent mosquitoes from entering and laying eggs. She said the inner walls of water-holding vessels should be scrubbed to dislodge mosquito eggs that may cling to plastic or clay surfaces.
The measures also included disposing of old tyres, broken toys, construction debris and plastic covers that can collect rainwater outdoors. Dr. Mate advised keeping roof gutters, storm drains and yard ditches clear so water can flow freely, and filling low-lying ground, grading uneven surfaces or draining stagnant water bodies to remove potential breeding sites.
She said community and environmental management to control the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes was an effective way to prevent dengue outbreaks, as there was no specific antiviral medication for dengue.
Awareness campaigns with practical demonstrations were also conducted at five other locations by the teams.
Dr. Liangoumuan Samte, District Malaria Officer (DMO), said the Source Reduction Teams (SRTs) in Churachandpur had been reconstituted to support rapid responses to outbreaks of vector-borne diseases in the district, in accordance with the guidelines of the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control (NCVBDC).
