The district health department has decided to take dengue and chikungunya prevention and control measures as part of a campaign over the next two weeks in Vattiyurkavu district, which has emerged as a hotbed of these vector-borne diseases in the last two months.
A meeting of ward councillors, field staff and health officials, which was held in Vatiorkavu on Friday to discuss the situation, noted that vector indicators of the Aedes mosquito species were high in the area and that even when cases were rising, people remained unfazed by the fact that vector control should be a sustainable household affair.
Senior health officials said that Thiruvananthapuram was certainly living up to its dubious distinction as the state’s dengue capital, and that in August alone, the district reported more than 700 cases of dengue (confirmed and probable) and about 25 cases of chikungunya.
“This year, as of August 12, the district has reported 101 cases of chikungunya, and 54 of these cases were from Vattiyurkavu district. Both dengue and chikungunya have been reported from all over the district, but Vattiyurkavu has emerged as a hotspot where these diseases are spreading. It has been decided to launch sustained activity in campaign mode and for health workers to conduct house-to-house visits to sensitize residents about the importance of the source,” said District Surveillance Officer, K.N. Satish, “Reduction.”
Health officials noted that the cases tested and reported make up only a small portion of the total number of cases in the community and that there are many homes in the area where more than one person has become ill. There are nine City Corporation divisions in Vattiyurkavu, covered by FHC Vattiyurkavu and Urban PHC. Health field workers reported that vector breeding was mostly domestic, in small pools of standing water in flower trays, biogas plants, and in plastic waste – disposable food boxes emerged as a major receptacle for rainwater – that households accidentally disposed of.
Population indifference
There are also many small vacant plots of land in the Vattiurkavu area that have become a dumping ground, as well as many houses that have remained boarded up for over months, where there could be many breeding sources for disease vectors. “Health workers have pointed out the apathy of urban residents, who, instead of ensuring that their homes are not breeding grounds for mosquitoes, expect health workers to come every week and destroy vector breeding sites in and around their homes,” a senior health official said. “People have to take responsibility for reducing the sources of mosquitoes in their households.”
Aedes species breed in containers, and even a teaspoon of water in a discarded plastic container or even an egg shell is enough for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Hence, maintaining cleanliness of buildings is a prerequisite to prevent the multiplication of disease vectors. Since vector control activities are carried out in campaign mode, the company will deploy an additional team of emergency workers – at least one or two people in each ward – to implement control measures.
It has also been decided to conduct intensive fogging operation in Vattiyurkavu area from Monday to kill adult mosquitoes. This will be followed up by active vector surveillance and source control by health workers. This course will be repeated for two to three weeks. The Kerala Public Health Act will be triggered if residents do not take source control activities seriously and help keep vector indicators low, health officials said.
Published – 15 August 2026 at 07:04 PM IST
