Mosquito Bite Prevention and Controlling Practices of Tribals in Himayatnagar, Nanded District (Ms), India

Mosquitoes are dangerous insects which cause diseases to vertebrates. Mosquito borne diseases are major health problems in India and in the world. Maharashtra is also endemic for malaria and other mosquito borne diseases that leads to a serious loss to the human economy. Apart from spreading deadly diseases, their continuous bites cause irritation resulting in sleepless nights. Mosquito species like Anopheles, Aedes and Culex are commonly found to be responsible for this havoc. Therefore, in order to keep the mosquito population under control and prevent mosquito biting to human beings, Health departments of State and Central Government are consistently working for this. People leaving in the mosquito prone areas also put their efforts in controlling and preventing themselves from the bites of mosquitoes with the help of modern and traditional ways. People leaving in the urban areas use synthetic chemicals to keep mosquitoes away from them. There are certain mechanical instruments also, with the help of which, mosquito bites are controlled. The chemical insecticides and mechanical instruments are easily available to the urban population but it becomes a difficult task altogether when it comes to rural population in the context of mosquito control. People from rural and tribal areas do not use these practices so often as all these facilities are not available in their nearby vicinity. Therefore, to know the traditional and modern ways by which the tribal population from the villages of Himayatnagar of Nanded district controls the mosquito population and prevent its bites, the current study was carries out. The data was obtained through interviews by questionnaire method which was prepared by following the instructions of District Malaria and Filaria Officers. The awareness about mosquito borne diseases among tribals of this region was also assessed during a period of 12 months from September 2014 to August 2015. Finally, after analyzing the results obtained from the current study, it was concluded that awareness about mosquitoes, their control and information about the use of synthetic mosquito repellents should also be given to the tribal population so as to minimize the rate of mosquito borne diseases