Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Aug 21: More than a century after Sir Ronald Ross established that mosquitoes transmit malaria to humans, the tiny insect continues to pose a major public health challenge in Goa, with a surge in dengue cases during the ongoing monsoon putting health authorities on alert.

World Mosquito Day, observed globally on August 20, has served as a reminder of the mosquito-borne disease threat, which is playing out in Goa with a sharp rise in dengue cases.

South Goa has emerged as the current epicentre. In August alone, 311 patients have tested positive for dengue through the NS1 antigen test, while the district recorded 650 positives in July.

In North Goa, officials have reported 115 cases so far, indicating a rising trend that has raised concerns among health authorities.

The spread has also affected critical government institutions. In early August, several police personnel at Margao police station tested positive for dengue, while around half a dozen Fire Services personnel at Porvorim were similarly affected days earlier.

The outbreaks triggered concern, although officials of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) cell handling the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme maintained that the situation was not yet alarming.

The latest surge comes after a year of declining dengue numbers and a noticeable shift in the disease’s epicentre from North Goa to South Goa.

Before the monsoon arrived in late June, the state’s dengue situation had appeared to be firmly under control. Goa recorded just one case in April this year, compared with six in April 2025 and 19 in the same month in 2024.

Between January and April this year, the state had reported only 11 cases, against 29 during the corresponding period in 2025 and 96 in 2024.

The DHS had attributed the improvement to aggressive preventive measures, including door-to-door awareness campaigns, destruction of mosquito breeding sites and targeted interventions in identified hotspots.

The situation, however, now appears to be coming under strain.

Officials have attributed the recent rise partly to stagnant water at construction sites and water stored in open containers at homes, both of which provide favourable breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue.

Settlements of migrant construction workers have also been identified as a contributing factor, an official said.

The DHS said it has intensified surveillance, fumigation and awareness campaigns. Its teams, in coordination with local panchayats, are working continuously to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

The increasing number of preliminary positives through NS1 antigen testing, however, highlights the growing threat as monsoon conditions provide favourable breeding conditions for Aedes mosquitoes.

With dengue cases rising across both regions, the mosquito menace that Goa had managed to contain earlier this year has once again emerged as a pressing public health concern.