Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease found in tropical
and subtropical regions.1
Over 2.5 billion people, 40% of
the world population, are at risk of dengue fever.2
According
to the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme
(NVBDCP), the number of cases in India has escalated
steadily, from 3306 in 2001 to 50 222 in 2012; deaths have
risen from 53 in 2001 to 242 in 2012.3
In West Bengal, 3306
confirmed dengue cases were reported from 1 January 2012 to
30 September 2012, of which nearly 2000 cases were recorded
from the Kolkata Metropolitan Corporation areas.4
Dengue
fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever are prevalent in urban
areas, as Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector of dengue (family:
Culicidae; genus: Aedes, subgenus: Stegomyia; species:
Aedes aegypti), usually breeds in urban and peri-urban areas.5
Outbreaks of dengue fever have also been reported from rural
areas of India.6
The rapid growth of industries and building activities,
improvement of transport facilities such as railway and roads,
increased movement of people from urban to rural areas, and
environmental changes have all favoured the spread of dengue
in rural as well as urban areas.7, 8 An increase in the number