St James mosquito index hits record high in October

WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James Health Department says the parish’s mosquito Aedes index, the indicator for the geographical spread of the dengue virus, had soared to a record 25.6 per cent at the end of October, which is a steep climb over the 13.2 per cent which was recorded in September.

Nadia Burgess, the assistant chief public health inspector for St James, told Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation that the increase was intensified by the ending of the parish’s vector control task-worker programme at the start of October.

“What we are doing at this point is to refocus our core team on the communities with high Aedes indices [high mosquito levels] to conduct larvicidal activities. Also, the task workers were re-engaged as of October 27, so now these persons have been dispatched to the various communities to resume larvicidal activities,” said Burgess.

The latest increase in the parish’s mosquito Aedes index is the highest recorded for St James so far this year. The parish’s index has shifted up and down since January, when it was recorded at seven per cent before climbing to 9.8 per cent in February. Following May’s record low of 6.2 per cent, the index climbed to 11.5 per cent in August.

The increase in the Aedes index is quite bothersome to the parish’s health department as it is happening at the same time that the parish is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

At the time of Burgess’ report, St James had recorded 999 positive cases of COVID-19 and 37 COVID-related deaths, making it the parish with the third-highest number of cases in Jamaica.

Burgess also spoke about her department’s bid to address the parish’s perpetual rat infestation problem, which remains a vexing issue despite numerous programmes to eradicate the rodents.

“In terms of rodent control, we continue our baiting at the government facilities. The city has an ongoing rodent issue, and there is a need for a comprehensive rodent-control programme, and a collaborative effort with all agencies will be required,” she said.