14 February 2014
By FAIRUZ MOHD SHAHAR | streets@nst.com.my
KILLER BUZZ: Subang Jaya Municipal Council to release the Toxorhynchites mosquitoes to curb the rise in dengue cases
SUBANG JAYA: THE Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will release the Toxorhynchites (Toxo) mosquitoes again to combat the alarming rise in dengue cases in its municipality.
The number of cases from Jan 1 to Feb 1 this year is 879, compared with 108 cases in the same period last year, said MPSJ president Asmawi Kasbi.
MPSJ contractors carrying out fogging exercises at homes in Taman Puchong Perdana.
He added that 31 locations have been identified as hot spots for dengue fever, with Lagoon Perdana recording the highest with 87 cases, followed by SS19/1 with 44 cases and Seri Kembangan with 43 cases.
He said the Toxorhynchites, which is also known as Elephant mosquitoes, can help curb the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.
"We first released the Toxo mosquitoes in Kampung Sri Aman in 2011 as this area had the highest number of dengue cases. We later carried out the same method in 2012 and 2013.
"There have been vast improvements as no dengue cases were reported in the area between August 2012 and July 2013," said Asmawi.
"Last year, we released the Toxo mosquitoes at USJ16 and the dengue cases have dropped significantly. We plan to use this technique at other hot spots and we will identify the areas later, he said.
The project, which was introduced in 2009, was in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia and CIMB Bank which has allocated RM60,000 for the initiative.
"We believe that using this method is more effective than fogging. Besides reducing the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, the technique is also environment-friendly," said Asmawi, at the press conference recently at the MPSJ headquarters.
"Its larva's lifecycle is 30 days and during that time, it can eat up to 400 Aedes larvae," he said, adding that the council has yet to decide when it would start releasing the mosquito.
Asmawi said the poor level of cleanliness in some parts of Subang, especially at apartments have led to the rise in dengue cases this year.
He said his officers discovered that some residents did not dispose of their garbage properly and had left their water tanks uncovered.
"Some occupants of commercial buildings also did not dispose of their garbage properly.
"We will continue to carry out inspections, fogging exercises and awareness campaigns with the district health office to curb the rise in dengue cases.
"We will also issue compounds to house and building owners who have Aedes mosquitoes breeding in their properties."
Under the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975 (Section 25), building owners will be slapped with a RM500 fine if the Aedes mosquito larvae is found in their premises.
Under Section 23 of the same Act, a person may be fined RM10,000 or sentenced to two years' jail for the first time and repeat offenders will be fined RM50,000 or jailed for five years.
http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/combating-aedes-with-mosquitoes-1.483445
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