During a dengue outbreak investigation in a town, an entomological survey measures the House Index (percentage of houses with Aedes larvae) at 8%. According to accepted thresholds used in Indian public health practice, this value indicates:

• A Confirmation of an ongoing dengue epidemic by itself
• B No risk, since any value below 20% is safe
• C Risk only if the Breteau Index is simultaneously below 5
• D Risk of epidemic dengue transmission, requiring urgent source reduction ✓

Explanation

D House Index above 5% is traditionally taken to indicate a level of Aedes infestation sufficient to sustain epidemic dengue transmission, so 8% calls for urgent container removal and larval source reduction. The index measures vector density, not human infection, so it cannot by itself confirm an epidemic. There is no rule tying risk to a simultaneous Breteau Index below 5, and 20% is far too lax a threshold.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.