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.