PUNE: As many as 49 persons have been tested positive for dengue in Pune since the beginning of the year.Private hospitals have reported these cases to the Pune Municipal Corporation 's insect control department.The number of dengue cases has grown considerably ever since the civic body’s health department started collating data from private hospitals. Earlier, the PMC would collect the data only from the government-run Sassoon hospital and PMC-run hospitals.“For the Aedes aegypti mosquito which has a very short flight and needs to feed on multiple hosts to complete its blood meal, the high-rise buildings with hundreds of flats offer a haven. The high density of human population, a protective environment with well-controlled temperature and humidity is tailor-made for mosquito breeding. The higher the density of mosquitoes, in close proximity to human habitation, the better the transmission of dengue virus,” said a scientist from the National Institute of Virology (NIV).Vector mosquitoes breed mostly in earthenware, metal drums and concrete cisterns used for domestic water storage as well as discarded plastic food containers, old tyres and other items that collect rainwater. Proper disposal of solid waste and improved water storage practices, which includes covering containers, should be followed, doctors said.People should maintain their coolers, air conditioner drains, basements, elevator shafts, water storage tanks and drums mosquito free. No amount of fogging outside is going to affect the mosquitoes breeding inside the house. People need to safeguard themselves against mosquitoes, say experts.

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