Three effective ways to curb dengue

Three effective ways to curb dengue

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

The most effective way to curb dengue fever is preventing the
proliferation of the aedes aegypty mosquito, the carrier of the
disease.

The mosquito lives and breeds in mostly stagnant water, such
as discarded bottles, open water basins and old tires.

The method of draining, covering and burying containers
(popularly called 3M) within 100 meters of human settlements,
which can possibly hold water, is one very good way to prevent
dengue fever.

Water kept in receptacles, such as bathroom water basins,
should be treated with insecticides, such as Abate, to kill
larvae and to prevent mosquitoes from breeding for several weeks,
but that process should be done regularly.

Fumigation should be carried out in places plagued by dengue
fever. However, the impact of that is temporary in nature, as it
depends on the type of insecticide used. In addition, some
insecticide will not penetrate into houses where adult mosquitoes
can be found.

People who take naps in the day time should use mosquito nets,
install nettings on doors and windows, use aerosol insecticides
at home and apply mosquito repellent on their skin.

And lastly is the development of vaccines. However, this
method has its own obstacles due to the presence of various types
of dengue virii -- DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4.

All of them can cause dengue fever. Immunity of one or two can
in fact increase the risks of being infected by the others.
Vaccines against the four serotypes are now being developed
simultaneously.