Guwahati, Nov. 7: The health department has discontinued the practice of outdoor fogging to ward of mosquitoes for lack of funds. At present, the exercise is on only in areas affected by dengue.

The number of positive cases of dengue fever in the Kamrup (metropolitan) district has reached 3,348 till date.

“The health department as well as the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) had been carrying out intensive fogging in different localities of the city after the outbreak of dengue fever came to light in July. But for the past few days, we have had to suspend intensive fogging for lack of funds. However, fogging as well as spraying of larvicide to kill mosquito larvae are being carried out in the affected localities on a regular basis. Fogging is also being carried out in and around residences of people who are requesting it. Intensive fogging will resume once we receive the funds,” said an official of the Kamrup (metropolitan) district health department.

The funds are provided to the district health department by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Assam. The NRHM had also given a huge stock of equipment to the GMC to carry out fogging and spraying of larvicide in the city.

“We are carrying out fogging and spraying of larvicide in different parts of the city on a regular basis,” GMC commissioner S. Vishwanath said.

Health officials said the incidence of the disease would gradually go down with the onset of winter.

“Though a substantial number of people have been infected by dengue fever, the number of cases is gradually going down. In fact, incidence of dengue fever will recede in winter as the mosquito transmitting the disease cannot breed well when the temperature as well as humidity is too high or too low. The Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds well when the temperature is between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. So, the outbreak of the disease is more common during autumn and less during summer and winter,” district malaria officer N. Choudhury said.

Officials complain that residents in many places are not taking necessary precautions to prevent breeding of the disease-spreading mosquito.

“When our health workers visited different localities to carry out fogging, they came across many people who store water in buckets and containers without covering it. This is dangerous as the dengue-transmitting mosquito breeds rapidly in stagnant water. Water should not be allowed to deposit anywhere. Even stored water should be kept covered,” Choudhury said.