BONGAIGAON, July 10 - On an experimental basis, Guppy fishes will be released in drains, gutters and stagnant water bodies in Bongaigaon and Abhayapuri within the next three days to control the rapid breeding of mosquitos, the carrier of encephalitis germs, in urban areas as the fish species feed on the mosquito larvae. These fishes will be brought from the National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, a source in the Halth department said.
Meanwhile, the Bongaigaon District Health Department and the civil administration are continuing their drive against the outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis(JE) and Acute Encehalitis Syndrome(AES) in the district.
Active surveillance teams have been pressed into services in 35 vulnerable villages and they have been instructed to visit every household to report fever cases, draw blood samples of the patients and send them to government hospitals for treatment by 108 ambulances.
Control rooms have been set up for 24�7 services in every block public health centre of the district to help the patients get proper treatment of JE and AES in time.
The district Health Department has reported a total of 15 AES cases, of whonm three had died till Tuesday. One more JE positive case was detected on Saturday and so a total of three JE cases have been detected in the district, out of whom, one has died already, District Media Expert Pompi Kalita said.