Combating Mosquitoes In Rivers

Imagine for a moment you found yourself in a mosquitoe prone environment, where perhaps you saw the visible danger of receiving the transmitted disease called malaria from mosquitoes bites.

According to medical experts, mosquitoes are members of nenklo carid flies. There are over 2,500 different species of mosquitoes throughout the world of which 150 species occur in the United States, 52 species occur in California.  In addition to inflicting a painful bite, mosquitoes can transmit diseases.

Beside, extensive research further showed that one of the transmitted deadly diseases is malaria caused by  mosquito  parasites.  Malaria, the experts say is a mosquito borne infectious disease of human and other animals caused by one of the mosquitoes species called enkarphe protists of germs plasmodium.   Malaria kills over 3000 children each day in Sub-Sahara Africa.  Statistics  from world malaria report in 2010, showed that there were 223 million cases of malaria and estimated 781,000 deaths in 2009.

With estimated population of 160 million, Nigeria bears a greater malaria burden than any other country in the world.  Various control measures have also been put into motion by the World Bank malaria global strategy.

To boost this programme, the World Bank also put in place a five year plan with three year intensive phase to support malaria control activities in Nigeria.

To key into this World Bank programme, the Rivers State government under the present administration went a step further to initiate a fumigation programme in collaboration with a Cuban firm to fight mosquitoes in Port Harcourt and its environs.  Parts of the contract agreement was also to build a biolarvicides manufacturing company in Port Harcourt.

But the Cuban firm may have started battling to save their contract with the state government as recent developments in the Brick House tend to suggest that Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi, a governor with zero tolerance for non-performance may not approve the construction of a biolarvicides manufacturing factory until he sees the impact of the fumigation exercise in Port Harcourt and  its environs.  The governor told a cream of journalists on 28th of October, 2011 during a world press conference that he had not seen the impact of the fumigation programme meant to totally eradicate mosquitoes in Port Harcourt and its environs.

While answering  question as to why the people had  not benefited from the programme, the governor narrated his ordeal when he saw an aircraft flying, a little above a residential building roof level one day, and expressed surprise why  a pilot took such a suicide mission.  And a government official told him it was one of the small aircrafts to spread biolarvicides in Port Harcourt to eradicate mosquitoes.

In his word, “I suffered malaria three times in a year  and my intention was to eradicate mosquitoes one of the sources of this killer disease.  But I have not seen the impact, hence, I have told the Cuban firm that I  will not approve the construction of the biolarvicides factory until I see the impact of the fumigation programme.  As I am talking to  you (gentlemen of the press), the aircraft is still parked at the airforce base”.

According to the governor, the proposed factory was to manufacture biolarvicides to spread all over Port Harcourt and its environs to completely kill mosquitoes larvae from the surroundings so that they do not become full mosquitoes that can cause malaria.

Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Samson Parker explained that the government in its unrelenting effort to combat malaria had spent several millions to procure insecticide treated nets which were distributed free to the people.  Today, he said, there is no household that you don’t find the insecticide treated mosquito   net.

A primary health officer based in Degema Local Government  area Eugene Eferebo said with the insecticide treated mosquito net, the effect of malaria on his children had  reduced.  “My children suffer from less mosquito bite because of the insecticide net.”

Another medical officer at Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH), Dr Green said the reported cases of malaria related infection had tremendously reduced  in the hospital.  Before now, especially, without the introduction of the insecticide net, most deaths  in the hospital wards were caused by malaria and typhoid.

He advised those having swimming pool to clean it with chloride even when the pool is not in use. According to him, the pool can attract mosquito larvae and this can in turn become full mosquitoes that can cause malaria.

An environmental health officer at the state Environmental Sanitation Authority, Chuks Amadi, enjoined residents of Port Harcourt and its environs to partner  with the committee on neighbourhood environmental sanitation,  to keep their gutters clean and unclogged.

Besides, residents should drill holes in the bottom not the sides of any garbage or recycling containers stored out doors.  These preventive measures, he said, when properly adhered to would further reduce the breeding  of mosquito larvae, which usually become full-fledged mosquitoes that can cause malaria.