Vol. 7, Issue 4, Part B (2020)

Author(s): Sunita Patel, Priya Singh, Ved Prakash, Abhay Kumar Sharma, Shilpi Dhan, Ram Singh and Sujeet Kumar Singh

Abstract: In India, outbreaks of dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) have been recorded in almost all parts of the country, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. A severe outbreak was reported from Delhi in 1996 and again in 2006 and 2010. Reports are available for the prevalence of Ae.aegypti in Delhi since 1964 Ae.aegypti is most prevalent mosquitoes preferred to breed in artificial containers in and around the houses. Therefore the present study is to find out season wise key containers for larvae and pupae production of Aedes in a highly endemic area for dengue in the capital city of India Delhi. Besides larval survey, pupal survey was also conducted during 2016 as pupal production is a better proxy for adult mosquito reproduction than traditional breeding indices and is more appropriate for directing dengue control programs. Monthly surveys were carried out randomly in 8140 houses and 18799 containers were checked. Three key containers such as plastic containers, coolers, and cement tank harboured 80 % of Aedes larvae. Among them plastic storage and coolers are recorded as perennial source of Aedes infestation that contributed 70 % of the immature breeding. We observed how different types of water holding containers, contribute to the breeding of Aedes in Delhi. Plastic storage used to store potable water in and around houses which ensured year round availability of water, acted as mother foci. The overall larval indices house index (HI), container index (CI), Breteau index (BI) and pupal index (PI) were calculated as 2.52, 1.22, 2.83 and 1.90 respectively. There was a significant relationship observed among the season. Therefore, public health attention is required to control breeding in such containers. Present study indicates there is a seasonal variation of breeding preference of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in different containers in Delhi, so this is important for implementation of appropriate season wise control measures for the prevention of dengue outbreaks in the future.