Gurgaon to try Iranian technology for dengue control

Authorities in Haryana's Gurgaon district will experiment with an eco-friendly larvicide prepared by an Iranian company to control the spread of dengue and malaria, a spokesman said here Monday.

A delegation of scientists from Iran Monday met senior officials of the Gurgaon administration and municipal corporation and gave a presentation on how the larvicide could control the spread of these diseases. The delegation offered to give a sample of its technology.

"This exercise will be completely on no commitment, no costs basis. If the results are found to be fruitful, as per the claims of the delegation, then the larvicide would be used in whole of district Gurgaon on experimental basis as a pilot project," the spokesman said.

He said that the delegation had claimed that the larvicide is eco-friendly and only kills larva of mosquitoes.

"It is harmless to plants, animals and even human beings. The water with this larvicide is safe for human consumption as well," the spokesman said, quoting the delegation.

The delegation claimed that since 2000, when this larvicide was used in Iran to control malaria, number of cases of the disease reduced from 20,000 to less than 1,000 annually. It has been used in countries like Oman, Sudan, Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria and Malaysia, he added.