KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton has endorsed the launch of two products by Hardware and Lumber Ltd which can be effective in the control of mosquitoes and lead to reduction of vector-borne disease transmission.

The company, through its trading division, AgroGrace, is now offering a tool, known as the In2Care Mosquito Trap, which attracts and kills the Aedes aegypti mosquito, as well as a liquid mosquito film, called the Aquatain AMF.

Tufton, speaking at a ceremony at Hardware and Lumber Ltd on Spanish Town Road in Kingston yesterday said the products are necessary to complement the efforts being made by the Government and its partners in the control of the Zika Virus and other vector-borne diseases.

The In2Care mosquito trap can be used indoors and outdoors and is a plastic container which uses water with an odour to attract the mosquitos, which come into contact with specially treated gauze in the container and are contaminated with a larvicide and a fungus, which prevent them from transmitting any disease. 

The mosquito then distributes the contaminant to multiple breeding sites when they fly out, before they die. The trap is to be set up by a professional.

The Aquatain AMF liquid mosquito film is used to control mosquito larvae in stored, stagnant and large bodies of water. A few drops of the non-toxic substance will spread across the water, forming a thin layer which traps and kills mosquito larvae and pupae.

Chief Executive Officer of Hardware and Lumber Ltd, Donna Doran, in her remarks at the ceremony, encouraged other corporate entities to also commit resources to the fight against vector-borne diseases. She said the company stands ready to partner with other entities that wish to acquire the products launched.

Meanwhile, she said Hardware and Lumber Ltd will be donating 20 In2Care mosquito trap kits and Aquatain AMF liquid mosquito film solution to the Waterford High School in Portmore, St Catherine.