St James Health Department to launch $60m rodent, mosquito control programme
Published:Saturday | December 27, 2025 | 12:05 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Amid the ongoing restoration work in St James in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the St James Health Department says it will be conducting an unprecedented $60-million rodent and mosquito control programme in sections of Montego Bay, starting on December 29.
Lennox Wallace, the parish manager for the St James Health Department, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that the initiative will entail a $50-million rodent control programme and a $10-million mosquito control programme. It will continue for a year.
“You know what would have happened following the disaster, with the proliferation of rodents and the subsequent spread of leptospirosis. Therefore, I am starting a $50-million rodent control programme for the parish of St James, and then we will have a $10-million programme as well to decrease the mosquito population in the parish as well, so we are spending a total of $60 million before the year is finished,” said Wallace.
“The rodent control programme will start from the clock tower on Barnett Street and then it will go into Granville, and into the worst-affected areas to include Westgreen and Catherine Hall, and will go as far down as Dead End (at the end of Jimmy Cliff Boulevard),” Wallace explained. “All of the business spaces, including the market, will experience that $50-million rodent initiative, and we will also be going straight to Lilliput.”
RAT INFESTATION
St James was one of several parishes where concerns about leptospirosis, as well as reports of rat infestation, arose following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28. Prior to the hurricane, the parish’s health department had an ongoing rat control programme that was entering its second phase and was slated to cost $2.75 million.
Of the 91 suspected or confirmed cases of leptospirosis that were recorded in Jamaica between October 28 and December 10, St James had the highest number with 19 reported cases, followed by St Ann and St Catherine with 13 each, Manchester and St Elizabeth with nine each, and Trelawny with eight.
According to Wallace, although the health department has spearheaded several rat and mosquito control programmes in the past, the upcoming initiative will incorporate education efforts and target homes as well as business spaces.
“This programme will be different because it will also include a lot of education. In the programmes we had before, we included the business spaces, but now we find that in the homes, especially in Westgreen and Catherine Hall, we would have had a proliferation of rats, hence the leptospirosis that the residents are experiencing. We are going into those areas to mitigate against any further increase and to ensure the population of St James remains safe,” said Wallace.
Wallace also noted that officers from the health department are carrying out ongoing inspections in Montego Bay’s market zone and at wholesales in the western city, to ensure food safety for citizens.
“From the day after the hurricane, we have been visiting wholesales, and we condemned a lot of food in Granville, in the market space, and in the Barnett Street space, approximately 2,250 kilogrammes of different types of food such as meats, patties, vegetables, seafood, baked products, and dairy products. We are doing re-inspections and ensuring that Montego Bay is free of disease, so people can go and shop safely and know that they remain safe,” said Wallace.