Prof. Dr. Anjum Sohail, Chairman, Department of Entomology, UAF addresses Awareness Seminar on Dengue

Dispelling the concept that clean water is suitable place for the Dengue mosquito, scientist has said that it lays its eggs on every type of stagnant water accumulated somewhere for six days. Dengue scientist and entomologist Prof Dr Anjum Sohail, Chairman, Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad addressed an Awareness Seminar on Dengue held to educate school going students about precaution and symptoms of the epidemic at Laboratory High School for Girls, UAF. The seminar was organized by Career Development Centre, UAF. Throwing light, Prof Dr Anjum Sohail said that if water is held in a pot for one day, dengue will not lay eggs as it likes stagnant water which is mixed with some dust participles. So after five days, the pot water carries some dust participles, attracting the mosquito because it is the diet of it. Refuting the impression that the virus bites only at the time of dawn and sunset, he said that behavioral studies upon it tell that dengue likes darkness and it becomes active after finding suitable circumstance. If a dengue is present in room having a few lights in daytime, the dengue will become active and affect the people, he added. He said that swelling on face, hands and feet, or bleeding from any part of the body, are signs of the infection getting serious and the patient needing urgent intervention and hospitalisation. He said that the dengue infection manifested as fever with associated headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea/vomiting and rashes. He said that people should take following necessary precautions to combat dengue fever before it gets in body: keep home, environment and surrounding hygiene; remove all stagnant water and containers; keep all drains well maintained and repair all chokes; avoid accumulation of ground water; fill up all defective grounds; don’t store water; avoid unnecessary irrigation; cover all containers properly; change flower vase water once a week to prevent dengue mosquito breeding there; wrap all unused plastic tyres; regularly change water in animal drinking containers; use mosquito repellents to avoid mosquito bite; use aerosols and mosquito coils to kill mosquitoes ; wear long sleeve and fully covered clothes and use mosquitoes net around bed while sleeping. Laboratory High School Headmistress Tasnim Zubair said as there is no vaccine for dengue virus, so precaution is mandatory, this is done by reducing open collections of water through environmental modification is the preferred method of control. CDC and Programme Officers Ms Asifa Naz and Ms Aneela Javaid said people can prevent mosquito bites by wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, using mosquito netting while resting, and/or the application of insect repellent.