JOIN USToday, the dissection can take place at a micro or macro-level. While at the micro level, a individual case infected with a disease can provide answers to the larger cause, at the macro level, surveys of the people at large can break the deadlock over ascertaining the spread of a certain disease.The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now involved at the macro level in ascertaining the cause for three public health issues that plague the city.
While, a two-day random sampling survey was undertaken by the BBMP along with the Health Department to ascertain the cause of the rapid spread of H1N1 influenza, the other is going to look at identifying the “vector” for the two airborne diseases, namely Chikangunya and Dengue.
“The door-to-door survey of identifying the vector’s breeding area that is spreading the two airborne diseases is at a conceptual stage. We currently intend to cover the entire city with the help of local residents and also the State Health Department,” informed the BBMP Special Commissioner, Maheshwara Rao.
A meeting was held by the Palike that involved the Health Department to brainstorm over the methods and find ways to collect data from various corners of the city for identifying these breeding grounds for the “vector”. According to Rao, the exercise should begin as soon as the Palike can finalise a structured method to collect the data.