THE WESTMORELAND public health department wants half a million dollars to implement an 18-day mosquito surveillance and eradication drive in communities worst affected by mosquito nuisance.
"It will be an expensive exercise. However, my department is strapped for cash," Noel Reid, chief public health inspector told a recent meeting of the public health committee of the Westmoreland Parish Council.
The secretary/manager of the parish council, Patricia Sinclair-Stair, informed the committee that the health department was advised to prepare and submit a costing on the venture to the Council, and the Council would try to give financial assistance.
However, some members of the public health committee have expressed concerns about the cost and duration of the proposed programme, noting that increased resources might be needed as additional workers will have to be brought on the programme to help sensitise residents about refraining from activities that encourage the breeding of mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, the health department contends that the communities in which it intends to start its mosquito eradication programme are the worst mosquito infested areas. They include Red Gate, Three Miles River, George's Plain, Retreat, Smithfield, Truro and sections of the Negril division.
