Twenty-nine of the 75 wards under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) have been identified as high-risk zones for dengue, according to an Aedes larvae survey conducted by the city authorities.
DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam disclosed the findings at a press briefing at the Nagar Bhaban auditorium in the capital on Wednesday.
He said mosquito density was found above the benchmark in 57 wards, of which 29 were categorised as high-risk and 28 as medium-risk. The remaining 18 wards were put in the low-risk category.
The 12-day survey, held from September 27 to October 8, covered 2,250 houses, with 30 selected randomly from each ward.
Thirty-six field workers from DSCC and the Directorate General of Health Services took part, using the Kobo Toolbox app to collect data.
Aedes larvae or pupae were found in 322 of the houses inspected.
Among breeding sites, plastic buckets accounted for 14.21 percent, followed by plastic drums (11.22 percent), water stored in basements (9.98 percent) and flower tubs (5.92 percent).
The high-risk wards are 15, 16, 19, 20 and 21 in Zone 1; 1, 2, 9, 11, 12 and 13 in Zone 2; 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 55 and 56 in Zone 3; 31 in Zone 4; 53 and 54 in zone 5; 62 and 65 in Zone 9; and 58, 59, 60 and 61 in Zone 10. Green Model Town in Zone 7 is also high-risk. Zones 6 and 8 have no high-risk ward.
Larvae were found in 31.37 percent of independent houses, 31.06 percent of multistoried buildings, 17.39 percent of semi-pucca houses, 13.04 percent of buildings under construction and 7.14 percent of vacant plots.
"As lives are at stake, we want people to know which wards are more at risk so that they can be aware," the DSCC Administrator said.
Larvae were found in 31.37 percent of independent houses, 31.06 percent of multistoried buildings, 17.39 percent of semi-pucca houses, 13.04 percent of buildings under construction and 7.14 percent of vacant plots.
He said none of the wards classified as high-risk in the previous survey made this year's list, which he credited to intensified DSCC activities in those areas.
He said 10 dengue patients from DSCC areas were hospitalised on November 3, while the corporation has so far recorded 16 deaths.
He said that patients from across the country are admitted to Dhaka hospitals, so overall figures differ from those of DSCC residents.
He said up to 80 percent of dengue's impact could be prevented if people cleared stagnant water at least once a week, and urged the media to help raise public awareness.
The administrator also announced that DSCC would clean latrines at all primary schools in the city every Saturday.