Week of action against dengue: 640 blockades were carried out in 65 neighborhoods

Within the framework of the Week of Action against Mosquitoes, the Municipality of Santa Fe implemented this week a comprehensive plan to combat dengue with a focus on blocking and prevention actions.

Home trash removal, another key preventive measure to prevent the proliferation of the mosquito vector of the disease. El Litoral Archive

This initiative is part of an effort among countries and territories of the Region of the Americas, promoted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) where under the slogan “United for Health”, it seeks to raise awareness and involve the population to increase the level of knowledge about the relationship between vectors and mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya and zika, among others.

This is a joint effort between authorities and the community to implement actions aimed at preventing the formation of mosquito breeding sites and controlling them.

The municipality’s Health Promotion Department, in conjunction with Pest Control and Animal Welfare, carried out 640 blocking actions distributed across 65 neighborhoods in the city.

This involves home interventions with health education, searching for other people with fever, assisted de-cluttering (advice and removal of useless objects that accumulate water in homes), and home and peridomiciliary fumigation. More than 15,000 homes were visited, of which nearly 56% were able to be intervened with all these measures.

In this context, work began on an action plan that focuses especially on prevention and promotion to reduce the possible incidence of cases in the milder seasons: spring and summer. Assisted removal tasks began in the most affected neighborhoods during the epidemic stage, that is, with a high number of dengue cases.

The task consists of bringing health promoters to homes, reminding preventive measures, symptoms, warning signs, and proposing the inspection of yards to eliminate useless objects that function as reservoirs, commonly called “clunkers.” During June and July, the neighborhoods of Coronel Dorrego, Guadalupe Oeste, San Martín, Facundo Quiroga, Pompeya, Norte Unidos, San José and San Agustín will be intervened; said planning will extend until the end of the year.

Ovitraps

The strategy is also applied in neighborhoods where ovitraps have tested positive throughout the year. These are jars or pots with water strategically placed in the city, which are changed weekly and serve to control the activity of the mosquito, since it deposits its eggs in them as in any other water reservoir. They are part of the municipality’s entomological monitoring system for planning preventive actions.

Preventive actions

On the other hand, training and workshops are given in neighborhoods and educational institutions to disseminate information on mosquito management and preventive measures. These workshops have already been held in the neighborhoods of Altos del Valle, Transporte, Cabaña Leiva, and in the Sargento Cabral and Niño Jesús schools, with planning for all of June and July in other educational institutions.

As well as the scrapping actions, the workshops and training will be extended throughout the year in a sustained manner to raise awareness in the community and maintain preventive actions. This also includes promotional activities in events and public spaces in the city, as well as audiovisual interventions in confluence places, especially in the Bus Terminal, given that there are regions of the country that present cases throughout the year, such as Misiones and Chaco, in addition from the neighboring countries: Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia.