At least 25 wards under Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation are at risk of dengue menace according to a health department survey unveiled at BCPS auditorium in the capital on Thursday.

The National Malaria Elimination and Aedes Transmitted Disease Control Programme of health department in its monsoon survey found alarming presence of aedes mosquito, the carrier of the fever, at the wards.

The officers reported that DNCC’s ward number 11, including Kalyanpur and Paikpara, was found the most vulnerable to aedes infestation.

Researchers use Breteau index to measure the severity of mosquito infestation in an area.

Breteau index is the number of positive containers infested with aedes larvae or pupae per 100 houses inspected.

In ward 11 the Breteau index point is 43.3, in ward no. 17 comprising Khilkhet, Kuril and Nikunja and DSCC’s ward no. 51 of Mir Hazirbagh, Dholaipar and Gandaria the BI point is 40.

According to the survey report DSCC’s 16 wards number 2, 4, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25, 34, 40, 41, 45 and 51 and DNCC’s nine wards no. 10, 11, 17, 19, 21, 32, 24, 29 and 32 were in acute dengue risk as presence of aedes mosquito was in BI over 20 which was risky.

Deputy manager of the programme Afsana Alamgir Khan in her presentation said that they have visited 2,999 households between July 19 and July 28 of DSCC’s 59 wards and DNCC’s 41 wards and found 374 aedes positive houses.

She said that till Wednesday 367 aedes patients admitted in different hospitals while nine of them still admitted.

She said that common breeding sources of aedes were flower tub, discarded food container and plastic buckets in multi-storey buildings and construction sites.

Comparing it with previous year it is very law as over 52,636 patients were identified in August 2019.

DNCC chief health officer Mominur Rahman Mamun said that the spread of dengue was very low in Dhaka this year in comparison with last year.

He said that it was the success of their massive anti-mosquito measures.

Entomologists, however, said that the city corporations have increased their mosquito control activities but many dengue patients went unreported due to the COVID-19 situation and unavailability of hospital facilities.

Prime Minister’s Office principal coordinator SDGs Zuena Aziz was the chief guest and Sanya Tahmina, director of disease control division, was the special guest at the programme.