IN AN effort to reduce the mosquito population in city wards, the Health Ministry’s Vector Control Services unit Tuesday evening carried out a fogging exercise in the West Ruimveldt, Shirley Field Ridley Square, Roxanne Burnham Gardens and Laing Avenue areas. This phase will also include communities as far as Plaisance.
The exercise is a continuation of a similar one conducted in the Diamond/Grove community, and is expected to be expanded to communities along the East and West Coast Demerara.
Chief Inspector, Vector Control Services, Karanchand Krishnalall noted that the exercise’s objective is to reduce the mosquito population as the vector is responsible for diseases such as filaria, malaria and dengue.
He is appealing to citizens to cover water storage containers such as tanks and barrels and to be aware of their surroundings, particularly areas where mosquitoes breed.
Krishnalall said targeted communities will be notified prior to fogging, hence people are urged to cover their food supply and protect children who are asthmatic.
The Vector Control Services unit is collaborating with the City Council to execute this exercise.
In 2010, the Ministry of Health introduced a new alternative, the BTI bacteria to also aid the reduction of the mosquito population. The BTI bacteria – Bacillus Thuningiensis Irsaelensis, is able to kill 72 species of mosquito larvae, when released into mosquito breeding areas.
The bacteria, when ingested by the mosquito larvae, eat the larvae’s brain and intestines. This method is not harmful to humans, the environment and other animals.
The ministry is encouraging citizens to appropriately discard tyres and unwanted containers, and to keep their surroundings clean so as to eliminate breeding grounds for the vector.