Cases of dengue fever in the city have declined from 150 to 27 during the last two months, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Jeddah Mayoralty spokesman, said here Tuesday. The decline has come as a result of joint efforts between the mayoralty and the Ministries of Health and Agriculture. Dr. Adel Jad, anti-dengue fever program consultant in the mayoralty, said that public awareness campaigns conducted in different languages taught people how to avoid the disease. Continuous spraying of pesticides all over the city also contributed to lowering the number of dengue fever cases, he said. Moreover, he said, the hot summer weather has shortened the life span of mosquitoes from three weeks to one. “The mosquito that transmits dengue fever is called Aedes Aegypti and usually lives in tropical areas especially in water tanks and pools of stagnant water,” said Dr. Jad. He explained that the main reason for the large number of infections in the past in southern Jeddah was because of the shortage of clean water. Because of the acute water shortage in these areas, the official said, people were forced to use water tanks that were usually left uncovered. “These uncovered tanks provided the perfect environment for the insects to breed,” he added.
