Prevention of Dengue

No vaccine is widely used for dengue in India, so prevention is a war on the mosquito itself - and the Aedes mosquito has habits that make it beatable once you know them.

Know the enemy

• Aedes aegypti bites by DAY - especially early morning and late afternoon - so night-time mosquito nets alone do not protect against dengue
• It breeds in CLEAN stagnant water: coolers, flower pots, bird baths, buckets, tyres, overhead tanks - not dirty drains
• Its eggs survive dry surfaces for months and hatch when water returns - drying a pot is not enough; scrub it
• One infected mosquito can bite many people - a dengue patient at home needs protection FROM mosquitoes so the chain breaks

The weekly 30-minute home drill

• Empty, scrub and dry every water-holding container: coolers, pots, fridge trays, plant plates, pet bowls
• Cover all water storage tanks and buckets with tight lids
• Throw out tyres, bottles, coconut shells and junk that can collect rainwater
• Check after every rain - new breeding sites appear within a week

Personal protection

• Full-sleeved clothes during the day, especially for children
• Mosquito repellent on exposed skin (DEET, picaridin or icardidin-based) - reapply per label
• Mosquito nets for daytime naps - babies and toddlers especially
• Screens on windows and doors where possible; coils and vaporisers for indoor knock-down

Community and outbreak sense

• Report persistent mosquito breeding spots to the municipality - one neighbour's cooler infects the lane
• Protect the patient: an infected person's mosquito bites spread dengue to the whole house - nets and repellent around the sick person too
• Extra vigilance in monsoon and post-monsoon months - peak Aedes season

One-line summary

Prevent dengue by fighting a day-biting clean-water breeder: the weekly empty-scrub-cover drill at home, repellent and full sleeves by day, nets for the sick - because the mosquito that spreads dengue breeds in your own house.