During a dengue outbreak in an Indian city, a health team plans focal control measures around confirmed cases. Which statement about Aedes aegypti is correct?

• A It bites predominantly at night, so bed nets are the main personal protection
• B It breeds preferentially in brackish and polluted water bodies
• C It lays eggs only in running water, so overhead tanks are unimportant breeding sites
• D Its flight range is short, usually less than 100 metres, supporting case-focused control around homes ✓

Explanation

Aedes aegypti rarely flies more than about 100 metres from its emergence site, so source reduction and larviciding within a radius around each case can interrupt transmission efficiently. It is a day-biting indoor mosquito with biting peaks in early morning and late afternoon, making bed nets largely ineffective. It breeds in clean stored water in man-made containers such as tyres, coolers and overhead tanks, not in brackish or running water.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 26th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.