More and more states have been reporting cases of dengue and chikungunya this year, with West Bengal in the lead. Many people have complained about their local authorities being lax in taking preventive measures such as fogging and keeping the drains clean.
Over 20 states have reported anywhere between 1,000 and 10,000 dengue cases this year already while another 15 have registered some 1,000 patients.
A LocalCircles survey showed 73% respondents indicated no anti-mosquito fogging has been done in their area during the last 45 days despite rise in the case in Delhi and Mumbai.
The survey asked respondents if their municipal corporation or panchayats had conducted anti-mosquito fogging in the area in the last 45 days. Out of 11,508, who responded to this query, 49% of stated a clear no, 24% indicated “they never do it”, while 21% said “yes” and 4% said fogging was done “multiple times”.
Usually, mosquitoes breed during monsoon or humid weather, and vector-borne diseases become perennial problem in the country every year during that time.
The survey then asked the respondents if their municipal corporation or panchayat actively worked in the past years to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases during the monsoon season. A resounding 73% stated “no, they haven’t” while the remaining 21% said “yes, they have” and 6% indicated they were not sure.
People rely on home treatment for malaria while in case of dengue they seek medical help unless patient’s health worsens. When asked if any of their family members had fallen ill due to mosquito-borne diseases in the last three years, 28% replied in affirmative while 19% said several members of their family were infected and 9% indicated only one in their family fell ill. However, 66% of respondents indicated no-one in their family had fallen ill due to vector-borne diseases in the last three years.
While civic authorities slacked in taking aggressive measures to contain the spread of mosquitoes, respondents were asked how much do they spend monthly on mosquito control? Out of 12,068 households, 41% said they spend up to Rs 200 every month while 30% shell out Rs 200-500 and 7% and 2% spend over Rs 500-Rs 5,000 every month. Only 4% of respondents failed to give a clear response.
The respondents were also asked what different products and services they use to control mosquitoes in their house, 54% said they used repellent liquids or sprays, another 52% indicated using battery-operated rackets, 44% used repellent machines while 28% said they applied anti-mosquito creams. Nearly 26% used coils, while 18% fogging services”; 4% “patches”; and 16% other products and services.
The survey received over 58,000 responses from citizens located in 327 districts of India. Nearly 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women; 47% respondents were from tier 1, 34% from tier 2 and 19% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
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