By Rabindra Rooplall

OFFICIALS from the Vector Control Unit and pest control officers yesterday met with a leading representative of a global distributor of innovative chemical and related products and services to discuss ways and measures needed to guard against the Zika virus.

One notable method that is to be implemented here is the ‘In2Care Mosquito Trap.’ Sessions were held with Univar Divisional Accounts Executive Raoul Persaud and 30 vector control officials at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, in addition to almost two dozen pest control officers at the Giftland Mall yesterday.

According to the Univar Representative, the In2Care Mosquito Trap is a unique mosquito control product that attracts mosquitoes that are ready to lay eggs, and uses novel and green alternatives to insecticides to kill them. It exploits the concept of “autodissemination” – contaminating mosquitoes with larvicide powder, and using them to spread this killing agent to surrounding breeding sites. This is particularly effective for container-breeding Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that can transmit Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viruses,” he said.

He explained that the trap is made of durable and recycled polyethylene, and contains a floater that moves along with the water level and serves as the landing/resting site for mosquitoes. Gravid female mosquitoes are attracted to the trap by the attractive odours added to the water reservoir, and they land on the floater gauze containing the bio-actives. These bio-actives target not only the mosquito (killing these within 10 days) and its larvae, but also the dengue virus inside the mosquito.

The unique mixture provides an environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic pesticides, and combines active ingredients that individually are used in other mosquito products which are WHO-recommended and/or US-EPA approved. Trap impacts have been demonstrated and published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Underscoring that In2Care received research funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Persaud said the mosquito trap lends itself perfectly for use by pest control companies that offer mosquito control services to resorts, hotels, restaurants, etc.

It provides a low-cost tool to target Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, and prevents outbreaks of Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya in a smart way, with minimal effort throughout the year.

According to Head of the Vector Control Unit, Dr. Horace Cox, the session with the Univar rep was essential in rolling out the In2Care Mosquito Trap, since support and training on vector control methods were a part of the informative session.

Dr. Cox noted that vector control would be meeting with the Univar rep at the end of the week to further implement a successful rollout of the mosquito trap in a systematic and viable manner.

The Vector Control Unit is intensifying its efforts at combating the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is the carrier of the Zika virus that has been classed as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This virus has, so far, affected only one individual here. More than a dozen samples have been returned as negative from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added Guyana and several other Caribbean countries to its travel advisory, asking pregnant women to avoid visiting because of the presence of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.