Drive to curb dengue in full swing.

Muhammad Humaidan | Arab News <p>JEDDAH: A major operation to destroy mosquitoes carrying the dangerous dengue fever virus in municipal districts has been underway for the last four weeks, according to a report.

The General Administration for Pest Control and Preventive Health at the Jeddah municipality's report said the directorate had employed methods such as satellite photography to detect locations of breeding in thousands of apartments and other locations.

Health workers then use chemical and nonchemical methods to destroy the insects.

"A major obstacle in achieving total success in the fight against the dreaded virus is the refusal of the majority of households to allow insecticides to be sprayed inside their homes," said Director of the Crisis Management Department Mahmoud Kansara. Just under half of homeowners visited by health workers were allowed inside, he added.

"However health workers have succeeded completely in spraying the houses and surrounding locations containing people affected by the fever," Kansara said.

The combat teams visited over 50,000 homes and 290 schools over the past four weeks up to Oct. 19. In the month before that they had visited 56,113 houses and 261 schools.

The teams also inspected hundreds of buildings under construction as well as nurseries, public parks, block-making factories, public places, farms, sewage points, residential complexes, treatment plants and mosques.

The teams used satellite photos to locate and treat over 1,700 stagnant pools of water. The remaining ponds are used by farms or used for sewage collection. They are disinfected weekly, the report said.

The teams also distribute brochures and pamphlets in various languages to raise awareness among people.

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