Fumigation drive fails to deliver

LAHORE - The CDGL’s much-belated dengue fever control programme launched a few days back to control the malaria and dengue fever has miserably failed to produce the desired results.

One reason behind the collapse of programme is the short-lived effect of the spray being conducted through pump machines and foggers. It kills the mosquitoes existing only in the present atmosphere but has little effect on the mosquitoes that crop up the very next day or afterwards.

Another reason for the campaign’s failure to make any impact is the places left unattended by those carrying out the sprays over the nullaha and other places of stagnant water which are the main breeding grounds for the mosquitoes. As sprays could not cover such places, fighting mosquitoes as lethal as carrying dengue virus is not possible.

This is evident from the fact that more and more dengue patients are reported despite the fact that most of the UCs have been fumigated. It is learnt that during this campaign 139 out of total 150 Union Councils have already been completed. Due to ineffective sprays, the CDGL staff has to repeat the areas already being fumigated. “Every day we repeat sprays in 10 or more UCs already being sprayed,” said a supervisor.