Mosquitoes move to indoor warmer places

Islamabad :In the existing weather conditions, individuals need to perform indoor residual spraying (IRS) to avoid dengue fever because after a significant fall in temperature, mosquitoes including ‘aedes aegypti’, the vector that causes dengue fever may move to inside homes and offices in search of relatively warmer places to rest and bite.

Temperature has already started falling in this region of the country and according to health experts; it may make mosquitoes unable to bite and fed on humans outside homes particularly at night.

Experts however believe that the number of cases of dengue fever would consistently be on the rise at least for another four to five weeks because the fall in temperature would not affect mosquitoes’ biting ability inside homes and offices as the indoor environment remains warmer enough for mosquitoes to bite and feed on humans at least till the end of November.

The epidemiological findings on the basis of trend of dengue fever spread during last five years in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi show an expected decline in number of cases of dengue fever in the coming days mainly because of fall in temperature, said Additional District Health Officer at Islamabad Capital Territory Health Department Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani while talking to ‘The News’ on Friday.

He explained that mosquitoes need to mount and grip human skin to bite and feed and for the purpose, they need significant strength. The fall in temperature to a specific level weakens the mosquitoes’ joints making them unable to mount and feed, he said.

Dr. Durrani who is a member of The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) said after fall in temperature, the mosquitoes move to warmer places like veranda, kitchens and bedrooms for feed and survival. It is time for the individuals to take extra care to avoid mosquito bite, he said.

To avoid further spread of dengue fever, it is time to make public aware of the fact that the fall in temperature observed recently has already caused mosquitoes to move to relatively warmer places inside houses and offices. One can observe that mosquitoes including dengue fever vector would move from corridors and dormitories to the bedrooms, kitchens and bath rooms and in corners behind the curtains or furniture to rest and bite, he said.

Studies reveal that mosquitoes can resist to a slight drop in temperature and would be able to survive in indoor places after further fall in temperature.

In the existing weather conditions, it is a must for individuals to treat indoor places including homes and offices with insecticide residual spray, suggested Dr. Durrani. Also it is a must for individuals to eliminate mosquitoes’ breeding sites inside homes at the time to avoid dengue fever spread in future, he said.