Mosquito Fight Intensifies in Trinityville Health District in St. Thomas

Four communities in the Trinityville Health District in St. Thomas have been targeted for a mosquito breeding-prevention initiative by the parish’s Health Department.

Spring Garden, Stewart Field, Trinityville and Danvers Pen residents are to benefit from a series of mosquito-fighting strategies, including source reduction, anti-larval measures, adult mosquito control, surveillance and monitoring, as well as public education and community engagement.

Under the theme, ‘My community, my health, my responsibility’, the project was launched during a World Mosquito Day ceremony on August 20, at the Prospect Primary School in Danvers Pen.

The four communities selected were based on their high risk for mosquito breeding, partly due to inconsistent water supply, which causes persons to rely heavily on having to store water for long periods of time and being dependent on rainwater catchment.

The programme will aim to reduce the mosquito population and, consequently, the incidents of mosquito-borne diseases.

Parish Programme Specialist,  Vector Control, Nashan Plunkett, revealed that pre-testing has been completed in three of the four communities and will be continued in the remaining community this week, to establish a baseline measurement of the target population’s knowledge, attitude and behaviour in respect of the theme of the project.

“There will be an evaluation period of three months following the initial inspections. During the final month of the intervention, there will be a post test, which will evaluate the effectiveness of the project by measuring their knowledge gained, attitude and behaviour,” Ms. Plunkett said.

“The community that is able to consistently maintain the required Breteau level will be the winner and be rewarded an incentive,” she added.

The Breteau Index is a measure of mosquito infestation by counting the number of containers positive for mosquito larvae per 100 houses surveyed.

Ms. Plunkett also announced that another competition will be held among the schools within the Trinityville Health District regarding mosquitoes and their public health implications.

The students will present their pieces at a health district fair which will highlight the project, the communities involved and the participating schools.

“As we begin this journey together, I want to encourage members of the participating communities to cooperate with the team members who are carrying out premises inspections and health education sessions, and also to encourage you to actively take part in helping us to achieve the goal of this project by monitoring your water storage containers, especially the drums or barrels, and destroying or treating all breeding sites found,” Ms. Plunkett urged.

World Mosquito Day is observed annually on August 20 and is used by nations across the world to raise awareness of the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases and the ongoing efforts to combat them.