Though several vaccine development programs are underway globally for these  mosquito- borne diseases, as  of now there are no commercially available vaccines.

The best way to prevent them is to avoid mosquito bites (both during the day and night) and prevent breeding of mosquitoes. Suspected/limited outbreaks of these diseases requiring local response (trigger level –1 of these diseases as per Integrated Disease Surveillance Project) must be taken seriously and promptly acted upon. Currently cases of Dengue and Chikungunya have  surfaced in Goa

It is recommended to follow these tips to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
1.Clean and scrub dry all the coolers in your houses, schools, colleges, workplaces, hospitals, etc
2.Do not allow water to accumulate in discarded disposable cups, tins, tyres, cans, coconut shells, empty bottles, utensils, flower vases, refrigerator trays, water containers for birds/animals.
3.Overhead water tanks to be covered with mosquito proof lids.
4.Since wearing of protective clothes may be difficult in hot and humid weather conditions, one can be generous with the use of mosquito repellant creams(preferably skin friendly  natural products like neem) to avoid daytime mosquito bites.
 
5.It is highly recommended to make the use of “insecticide treated bed nets” mandatory for all patients admitted in hospitals. These nets are to be used at all times. Alternatively each hospital can have separate wards for vector borne diseases designated as “mosquito proof” wards for male and female patients. Care should be taken to ensure that these wards are fully mosquito proof and the movements of these patients should be restricted to these wards only.

In Goa , only around 7% of the population(figure from a recent survey) use bednets while sleeping. It is therefore suggested to fully utilise the facilities provided by the District Health Services to get their bednets treated with insecticide on a regular basis.

6.Try to fix mosquito proof screens on windows and doors of healthcare settings, houses and workplaces wherever possible.

7.Identify all potential mosquito breeding sites (domestic and peri-domestic), elimination through source reduction measures  and use of  larvivorous fish(supplied by DHS).

8. The technique of aerosol spraying of ultra low-volume (ULV) quantities of insecticide has been found to be effective in interrupting transmission and stopping epidemics of mosquito borne diseases. By making 2 ULV rounds of  10 days apart the Aedes Research unit in Bangkok  has succeeded in reducing mosquito densities by more than 98% for several weeks. This spraying has to be carried out simultaneously in all areas of Goa. The cost of 100% coverage of insecticide spraying of areas verses the total cost of patient care due to all diseases transmitted by mosquitoes needs to be worked out. Region-wise entomological studies need to be carried out for the choice of appropriate & safe insecticide and also  to know susceptibility of these mosquitoes to the selected insecticide .

Finally if every individual succeeds in preventing mosquito bites, the mosquitoes may be forced to look for alternate host to feed on and in times to come we may witness a major change in the dynamics of disease transmission.
Let us all at our own level do all that we can to prevent mosquito-borne diseases . 

Dr Delia Dsouza