- Southern parishes prioritized for interventions against mosquito breeding sites
KINGSTON, Jamaica. Thursday, July 18, 2024: Vector control activities are being intensified across the island, given the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl and the resulting increase in mosquito-breeding sites.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton detailed the rise in mosquito population across the island and the country’s disease mitigation efforts during a press briefing held today, (Thursday, July 18) at the Ministry’s New Kingston office.
“With the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl and the reality of the rainy season, there will be a significant and sustained increase in the local mosquito population – both the vector and nuisance populations,” the Minister said.
Before the passage of the hurricane, the Minister noted, the Breteau Index (BI), which measures the number of containers found with mosquitoes per 100 houses, was very low, at a figure of approximately 18.6.
“In the wake of the hurricane, all containers treated have washed out and refilled, thus significantly increasing the number of mosquito-breeding sites,” the Minister explained.
Cryptic breeding sites
Arising from this, the Ministry is urging members of the public to be aware of ‘cryptic breeding sites’, that is, mosquito breeding sites that are not readily visible or which may be in remote locations or beyond human reach.
These include rocks with depressions, underground drains, as well as vast, swampy areas. The caution comes given the anticipated increase in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector that causes dengue fever. The Aedes aegypti is among the 74 species of mosquitoes in the island.
The Ministry is also flagging for the public’s attention, a general increase in other vectors such as flies and rats which typically increase in presence following weather events such as a hurricane.
Response measures
Meanwhile, southern parishes, which were among those most affected by dengue cases in the last year and devastated by Hurricane Beryl, have been prioritized for interventions.
Among the Ministry’s response efforts are plans to deploy an additional 400 vector control workers across high-risk communities to identify and treat breeding sites. In addition, they will assist with the fogging activity. This will bring the current number of temporary vector workers to 1,000.
Additionally, fogging activities have been extended to seven (7) days a week and are being conducted both in the morning and evening, with special emphasis on urban centres and high-risk communities.
In tandem with the above, Private Pest Control Operators (PCOs) are being engaged to further strengthen the fogging activities in areas most needed.
“We are targeting 10 private contractors, with those numbers to be adjusted based on developments over the next couple of months,” the Minister added.
The Ministry will also be distributing drum covers to help to stem any significant increase in the Aedes aegpyti population. Between September last year and March this year, the Ministry distributed 11,000 covers.
Another 500 have been distributed since Beryl; and another 20,000 are being procured for distribution.
Public support
Given the current levels of mosquito infestation, the Ministry is recommending that citizens take the following necessary actions to protect themselves from mosquito bites:
- Search and destroy breeding sites around the home. At least once per week, citizens are to search their environment for any containers that may have collected water and to destroy them.
- Use repellant containing deet. Use repellant when outdoors during the peak mosquito flight time and reapply this as indicated on the label.
As far as possible, members of the public are to avoid being outdoors during the peak activity time for the mosquitoes.