Publication:

A longitudinal study on the association between water storage practices and dengue indices among rural households of Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu

Background The abundance of Aedes mosquitoes which transmits dengue fever fluctuates with unusual rainfall pattern and water storage practices, as it breeds well in artificial collections of water in and around the houses so vector control is the only way to break the chain of disease transmission. This study aims to find out the association between water storage practices and mosquito larval indices.

Methods This was a longitudinal study conducted among 121 households in the rural field practice area of SRM Medical College and Research Centre using a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire along with visual inspection of households for water collection and larval breeding.

Results Total study population in the 121 households was 484 which includes 247 (51%) males and 237 (49%) females. Majority of the study population were illiterates 23.7% or have education upto high school 20.8%, doing semi-skilled/unskilled work 32% belonging to a nuclear family 69.4%. More than half of the households were living in pucca house 50.4% and belongs to class-II socio-economic status 46.3%. Water scarcity and water storage were reported mostly in months between March to June which was significantly associated with presence of larva in the corresponding months (p<0.001).

Conclusions Water storage practices due to water scarcity has a significant association with the larval indices which shows that improper water storage practices can be a breeding place for mosquitoes and aid in transmission of vector borne diseases.