SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – AN extensive public education campaign on how to combat mosquito-borne diseases, in particular the dreaded Chikungunya virus, is currently underway in Westmoreland.

The campaign is being spearheaded by the Westmoreland Parish Council in collaboration with the Public Health Department, and is being carried out in schools, churches, youth clubs and other community groupings.

Westmoreland’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Danree Delancy, said that both entities are engaged in an ongoing programme of sensitising householders on proper water-storage practices, in an effort to prevent the rapid breeding of mosquitoes.

“I believe that as a parish, we are on the way to educating our people and this is really a work in progress,” the deputy mayor pointed out.

According to Delancy, over the past two weeks, just over 35 students currently employed under the Westmoreland Parish Council’s Summer Employment programme, have been assisting the Westmoreland Health Department with the public education drive.

He noted that the council, over the years, has partnered with the Public Health Department on numerous occasions in an effort to reduce the mosquito population, as it seeks to protect citizens from various insect-borne diseases and infections.