Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh today warned authorities of under construction buildings to stop their works, if Aedes larvae is found at the construction sites. "As per our surveys, under construction buildings are ideal sources for breeding of Aedes mosquitoes . . . tougher action will be taken against owners and authorities of under construction building, if they ignore directives of the government to destroy any breeding sources of Aedes Mosquito," he told journalists after visiting renovation works of Dr Kazi Bashir Auditorium at Gulistan in the city. The DSCC mayor urged all developer organizations and REHAB to play their due role in destroying breeding sources of the mosquito-borne disease. He said, "We have taken all necessary measures to tackle any outbreak of dengue disease . . . we will launch our drive from the beginning of next month to prevent the mosquito-borne disease." At a meeting held last month, Health and Family Welfare Minister Profess or Dr Samanta Lal Sen today laid emphasis on taking comprehensive initiatives to prevent the dengue disease. "All relevant organizations have to work in a coordinated manner to combat mosquito-borne diseases as the country witnessed severe outbreak of dengue last year," he added. The health ministry sources said Bangladesh reported nearly three lakh dengue infected patients last year meaning, "This is the highest number dengue cases in a single year since the mosquito-borne disease was detected in 2000." In the past 23 years, 2.5 lakh dengue cases were reported in the country while it logged three lakh dengue patients last year. The health minister said sharp rise of both infection and fatality of dengue in 2023 is forcing all relevant organizations to shed light on taking concerted efforts to destroying breeding sources of dengue diseases alongside improving healthcare services. "Community engagement is very crucial to prevent dengue disease . . . adding it is impossible for a single institution to hand le the menace," Dr M Mushtaq Hussain, adviser of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said. He urged the city dwellers to remain careful about sources of stagnant water as most of the people in the country have utter negligence to keep their surroundings neat and clean. The two city corporations must assign adequate number of staffers to collect information on larva of Aedes mosquito from every houses of the city, Mushtaq said adding all have to abide by rules to destroy breeding grounds of mosquito," she added. "City dwellers must be cautious about stagnant water which is the main source of breeding of Aedes mosquito, even a small quantity of water can grow Aedes mosquitoes leading to the spread of such deadly disease," he added. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha