Unusual!! Presence of large numbers of Culex mosquitoes in February in Chennai!!
Posted on: 10/Feb/2023 9:28:16 AM
In recent times, there has been no rains in Chennai but the mosquito menace in the city has become very high now and the GCC has been receiving an unusually high number of complaints. This is on par with the complaints received by GCC during the monsoon season.
Now, Chennai has got huge amounts of Culex mosquitoes and this is due to the presence of foggy nights and mornings. These mosquitoes breed in the sewage water in the SWD and in the canals etc. This was according to some officers belonging to the Chennai Corporation.
It was mentioned by the chief vector control officer from GCC Mr. S. Selvakumar that ten larvae of culex mosquitoes per dip were found by them and this was high when compared to the 2 per dip of aedes mosquitoes growing in freshwater.
In north Chennai localities like Tondiarpet, Korukkupet, Mint, Old washermenpet and along the sides of Buckingham canal etc, GCC have found high numbers of Culex mosquitoes now.
Mr. Selvakumar then highlighted that fogging is being done in storm water drains but because of illegal connections the mosquitoes are coming back again.
The container value of 10 larvae is very high for a city like Chennai and this was according to the famous virologist Dr. Jacob John. He threw light on the fact that the valve must be zero. He concluded that Culex mosquitoes grow in sewage water and it could cause deadly infections like Japanese Encephalitis or JE and West Nile infections etc.
