Corruption and dengue

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I am 86 years old, living alone, plagued with a number of chronic diseases that keep me house-ridden, so I myself am unable to inspect my yard for anything, including mosquito-breeding sites. The mosquitoes were numerous, so after much excruciating effort, I found that an ackee tree hangs over the concrete wash sink. Vast numbers of leaves are shed in the sink so that when it rains, the sink collects and stores gallons of water which may be there for any length of time, unknown to me.

A vector-control agent, one who is supposed to inspect ­premises for mosquito-breeding sites, came to my home, did no inspection whatever, handed me a flyer titled ‘DENGUE ALERT’, and told me that if a supervisor came to check if anyone had been to my house, I was to present the supervisor with the flyer as proof of an inspection.

It has been several weeks now, and no supervisor came. BUT THE DENGUE DID , adding to my other maladies. The area is also one that has been more recently reported as having an outbreak of dengue.

If you notice that I have been careful not to indicate the sex of the vector, or the area from which I speak, it is because not only is the dengue on the increase, but also the bullets.

GERALD F. BROWN

geraldfbrown@aol.com