Jamaicans urged to join campaign to get rid of mosquito breeding sites

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is charging Jamaicans to get involved in the national campaign to find and destroy all mosquito breeding sites in an assault on the ongoing dengue outbreak. 

Many of the sites are found within the home - in vases, flowerpots and, pans, cans, and old tyres. 

“The data suggest that the threat is not alien but originates from within. It is within the confines of your yard settings, your homes, in your community, which means that all of us have to search and destroy. The main focus is to destroy the breeding sites primarily," he said as he addressed yesterday's post-Cabinet press conference at Jamaica House in St Andrew.

"So you punch a hole in the can, punch holes in the used tyres. You cover the containers with potable water and put a mesh or covering over them to prevent mosquitoes from getting in, thereby neutralising the breeding sites."

Up to September 29, Tufton said Jamaica recorded about 1,117 presumed, suspected and confirmed dengue cases

Dengue is a viral infection spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito to people. The most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea. and a rash. It is also known as break-bone fever due to the severity of muscle spasms and joint pain.

There are four strains of dengue - serotypes DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4 - with DENV-2 the dominant strain. It was last identified in Jamaica in 2010, which means that the younger population would have little resistance to it, according to Tufton.

Last Friday, national surveillance data showed that among confirmed and suspected cases were type-three and type-four. Suspect means that all the symptoms suggest that the patient has dengue and confirmed means that clinical testing reveals the presence of virus or the antibodies.

“We are anticipating that the dengue outbreak will last up to the end of this year and more than likely into the first quarter of next year,” Tufton disclosed.

More than $300 million has been allocated to the municipal authorities, the National Works Agency (NWA) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) in what the health minister described as an overarching and holistic national campaign to eradicate mosquito breeding sites.

Of this amount, $96 million will go to the municipal authorities, the NWA will get $160 million for the cleaning of major drains in high-risk communities, with the NSWMA getting $75 million for the removal of bulk waste such as discarded fridges, stoves, washing machines, old tyres, and the like.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com

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