IMA's Central Working Committee approves the concept IMA DENGwar, a unique campaign against the dengue causing mosquito

IMA's Central Working Committee approves the concept IMA DENGwar, a unique campaign against the dengue causing mosquito IMA has adopted a unique mosquito-fighting strategy to battle the species carrying the dengue and Zika virus. New Delhi, April 04, 2016: Recently World Health Organization declared ZIKA a global health emergency as the virus spread rapidly in the Americas, citing Zika's link to the birth defect microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder in adults that can cause paralysis. The mosquito species responsible for spreading the virus by biting people lives in and around homes, making traditional evening insecticide fogging campaigns from sprayers mounted on trucks an ineffective option. Dr K K Aggarwal, Padma Shri Awardee and Honorary Secretary General IMA said, "IMA will adopt a four corners approach, targeting the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes indoors and outdoors as well as focusing on killing both larvae and adult insects." Most mosquito abatement efforts target nuisance mosquitoes, those that bite at dusk and ruin picnics and barbecues but pose little public health threat. But Aedes aegypti is a daytime biter that dines exclusively on humans, biting several people in a single blood meal. Aedes aegypti has been dubbed "the cockroach of mosquitoes" because it is so hard to kill. In some parts of the country it has widespread resistance to some insecticides. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to kill. We need to shift our focus from “control nuisance mosquitoes” to control “disease-spreading mosquitoes." Surveillance systems in most states and municipalities are geared toward night-biting mosquitoes that breed in larger bodies of water, and are not likely to detect Aedes aegypti, which breeds in flower pots, tires, trash and small pools of water. Unlike many other types of mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti's eggs can dry out and cling to container surfaces, waiting for the next rain to revive them.