Over 75 percent mosquito breeding sites in homes

by Carol Aloysius

With the dengue outbreak teetering at the edge of an epidemic in Sri Lanka, Health Ministry sources said that the main culprits are house owners who fail to clean up the interior and exterior of their homes.

"In our program to eliminate mosquito breeding sites under the direction of the Presidential Task Force on Dengue, we found that more than 755 of householders in the Dehiwela - Mt Lavinia Municipal area were guilty of breeding mosquitoes in their backyards and some, even in their homes in their kitchens, ant traps, vases, hearths and uncleared garbage". Chief Medical Officer for Dehiwela, Mt Lavinia municipal area, Dr Indika Ellawela told the Sunday Observer.

"If these breeding sites were cleared, the incidence of dengue could drop by over 50 percent", he said. He said that a mosquito could fly only 200- 500 yards which meant its ability to spread the disease to faraway places was very limited. "It is essentially confined to neighbourhoods.

If each house owner keeps his garden and house free of mosquito breeding sites, they can be certain their entire neighbourood will be free of dengue".

He said that the first phase of a program to eliminate mosquitoes in his Municipal area concluded yesterday, and would continue this week as well, eventually covering 12 identified high risk Grama Niladhari (GN) areas. Fogging as well as clearing the sites were part of the program, with the Municipality even hiring trucks to carry away building material and garbage dumped on waysides.

The high risk areas were identified using a team comprising representatives from the Forces, Ministry of Health and from the AGA office, who were empowered to enter the premises of all houses for inspection purposes.

"Householders who had breeding sites were given three days to clean up or face legal consequences "he warned."

Our aim is to totally eliminate dengue by reducing these breeding sites everyone must co-operate".