GVMC readies action plan to check diseases this monsoon season
The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has planned several strategies to check seasonal diseases in the city this monsoon season.
The civic body has drawn a comprehensive action plan focused on mosquito control, raising people's awareness and improvement in sanitation.
Identifying fever hotspots based on history, intensifying anti-larval operations, and initiating widespread fogging and spraying activities are among the key strategies.
Chief Medical & Officer of Health (CMoH) Naresh Kumar said that 106 water stagnation points had been identified in the GVMC limits.
Sanitation teams are being deployed to monitor such spots and clear water stagnation points, especially during rains. Spraying operations are being carried out in drains across the city, and oil balls will be put in select water bodies to check mosquito breeding. The GVMC has been using drones to spray pesticides in some water bodies.
'While anti-larval measures are already on, we will intensify the operations in anticipation of the rains and the possible outbreak of vector-borne diseases,' Dr. Naresh Kumar said.
Augmenting manpower
To strengthen the manpower for these intensified operations, the GVMC has proposed the recruitment of an additional 430 personnel. Currently, around 230 workers are engaged in anti-larval operations. The proposal is expected to be reviewed during the upcoming GVMC Council meeting, likely to be held in the first or second week of June.
Starting June 15, when educational institutions are scheduled to reopen, fogging and spraying operations will be carried out in all hostels.
In general, Visakhapatnam reports dengue cases often when compared to chikungunya and malaria. Last year, a few cases of malaria were reported. However, the number of cases being reported is on the decline, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the GVMC officials are preparing to launch awareness campaigns in collaboration with the Health Department, ASHA workers, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), and sachivalayam staff.
A door-to-door surveillance exercise will be rolled out to educate residents in clearing stagnant water, aiming to curb mosquito breeding at the source.
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