To fight the mosquito Temples of the Egyptians, 2,671,983 properties in the Federal District were inspected between January and early December by the Environmental Surveillance. Of this total, 370,518 received treatment and 482,140 were closed or agents refused entry by landlords.
The visits are part of the actions of the Health Secretariat (SES) to prevent the breeding site and the proliferation of the transmitters of dengue, zika and chikungunya, which also include pest monitoring, environmental management, the use of insecticides and traps and mapping of risk areas.
“Due to an adaptation that the mosquito has shown, it is known that transmission of the virus continues throughout the year, even in the dry months.”
Jadir Costa Filho, director of environmental surveillance
Environmental Watchdogs visit homes and businesses every day to guide residents and merchants, and even work with treatments when needed.
“Daily inspection helps reduce the incidence of arboviruses,” says the director of Environmental Surveillance, Jadir Costa Filho. “It is known that, due to an adaptation that the mosquito has shown, transmission of the virus continues throughout the year, even in the dry months. Therefore, the work cannot stop”.
The choice of locations is made using the LIRAa system (Rapid Survey of Indexes for Temples of the Egyptians), which, this year, is classified as satisfactory and does not have any administrative region classified as at risk.
“Already in 2021 we had an alert situation, with five RAs classified as at risk. This shows that vector control actions are advancing, especially with the support of various government agencies in the Federal District, which should be reflected in the decrease in the number of cases this rainy season,” adds the Director of Environmental Surveillance.
Investigation
The region of Guará I was chosen for the visit of the agents in the second week of this month. Under the coordination of the environmental surveillance agent Herica Cristina Marques Pereira, a group of professionals went door to door to check inside the houses. “Every day we carry out visits to six administrative regions, inspecting, guiding and talking to the resident about the importance of not leaving the mosquito’s attention and cleaning,” explains the agent.
“By taking responsibility for what I do at home, I take responsibility for my neighbor”
Rosangela Ferreira dos Santos, resident of Guará
“Our guideline is for the person to do weekly home maintenance, to spend ten minutes a day doing this inspection in their own home,” he says. “We need everyone’s help. Everyone must act.” Herica points out that the female mosquito’s eggs remain for a year up to 450 days in the dry period; when it rains, in a period of 15 to 30 minutes it is possible to have a larva, and in a week the mosquito is already considered an adult.
The residence of retiree Rosangela Ferreira dos Santos, 65, was one of the houses inspected. A resident of the area since 1997, she says an officer visits her three to five times a year. “By taking responsibility for what I do at home, I take responsibility for my neighbor,” the resident points out.
To date, officers have never found mosquito larvae in Rosangela’s home. “There are a lot of plants here at home, so I have to be very careful,” she says. “In these days some coconuts have fallen, which I have turned over and over to avoid problems”.
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Another person who always gets a “10” from the agents is the retired Maria Nilce Alves Teixeira, 80 years old. She has been living in the same house for 60 years and her routine includes precautions to avoid Temples of the Egyptians. “I use insecticide in the corners of the house, I wash the drains with bleach and I am always careful not to have waterlogging”.
Retired Severino Francisco Pereira, 77, has lived in Guará for 50 years and receives an environmental surveillance officer every two months. “They never found anything,” he says. “There is no standing water here. I don’t leave containers with water and I also put the bottles upside down and covered, as well as always looking at the gutters”.
