Dengue mosquito breeding sites are much more present in homes. According to Epidemiological Surveillance, 80% (4 out of 5) of Aedes aegypti breeding sites are in houses with residents and only 20% are in closed or abandoned houses.
The Department of Health, through Sanitary Surveillance, asks the population to support the inspection of their own homes to avoid the accumulation of water in containers that can become breeding grounds for mosquito larvae of dengue — which transmit, in addition to dengue, the zika virus and chikungunya. .
The “bad guys” of dengue are found in the smallest objects, such as flower pots, clogged gutters, tires, bottles and lids, but also in water containers, gallons and unnecessary materials. . Aedes aegypti lays its eggs on the walls of breeding sites with clean, calm water.
In the 28 days of February alone, dengue teams collected 21 tons (21,000 kg) of unusable materials from homes visited. These are objects and other waste which were not used by the resident and which have been removed with the authorization of the owner of the house.
“During the whole period of the pandemic, we have not stopped working to fight against dengue fever. The agents have continued to act. We have had great difficulty in the visits because of the refusal of people, but we have not not stopped carrying out actions and education campaigns. We know that now is a good time, with heat and rain. We hope that people will start watching their backyards again, the epidemics that can occur inside their own home, so that we can eliminate these residential epidemics.The large amount is inside the houses, even though people find it difficult to find it, due to the ability of the mosquito to breed in different places,” says Health Secretary Eliana Honain.
According to Eliana, the town hall will intensify the “trawlers” to fight dengue fever and will also spray a larvicide, recognized by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) and by Sucen (Superintendency for the Control of Endemic Diseases), at points strategic with greater disease transmission.
In addition to taking charge of their homes, the Directorate of Health and Epidemiological Surveillance also asks residents to allow the entry of health workers for inspection and orientation work.
30 THOUSAND VISITS PER MONTH
On average, epidemiological surveillance agents and community health agents (from the family health program) visit 30,000 households per month. In half of them (15,000), agents are able to carry out the visit. In the other half, the work is not completed for lack of authorization to enter. Crews even work extended hours (night shifts) and Saturday shifts.
Professionals in epidemiological surveillance to combat dengue, responsible for home visits, are always identified by a badge, gray uniform and brown vest, in the case of endemic agents. The epidemiological supervisor wears a green shirt.
In the case of community health workers, who live in the neighborhoods where they work, there is identification with a badge, a blue cap and a blue vest with the coat of arms of the town hall and the SUS symbol. All professionals visiting homes also wear face masks to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
If the person visited still has questions, they can call to verify the names of the Health Surveillance agents via the telephone numbers 3303-3123 and 3303-3124 (Vector control management) and 0800 774 0440 (Vector control ombudsman). Health Surveillance) or then contact the neighborhood health post (in the case of community health workers).
STREET PERFORMANCE
In February, 985 blocks were visited in dengue transmission areas, with 9,143 beneficiaries checked. Of these, 3,420 had standing water and 783 contained Aedes aegypti larvae.
According to data from Epidemiological Surveillance, the year 2022 (up to the beginning of March) registers 562 confirmed cases of dengue fever.
This year’s rate is much lower than that recorded in 2019, when the town was facing an epidemic. At that time, 23,134 cases were recorded over the whole year and 16,911 between January and March. But, that’s above the records for the whole of 2021.
TRAPS
Since 2020, Araraquara has had an innovation in the fight against dengue fever, in partnership with the company Ecovec. About 1,000 traps have been installed in all the neighborhoods of the town, with the authorization of the owners of the residences. The trap simulates a breeding ground for the female Aedes aegypti, which is lured inside and held by an adhesive card.
These traps are visited by a team on a weekly basis. Agents identify and qualify mosquitoes and the data is sent to a system. The vectors are sent to a laboratory in Belo Horizonte. After the analysis to check if the mosquito is contaminated, the town hall receives a notice indicating the areas with viral circulation to take the necessary measures.
“Today we know where the mosquito is. The traps gave us another reference in relation to the actions to be developed. We carry out blocking actions before cases appear in this region, as we identify each week where the mosquitoes are through traps. This greatly facilitated our work”, concludes Eliana Honain.
