MONTEGO BAY, St James — Some 40 temporary workers will this month join the vector control team in St James as part of the parish’s rigorous efforts to stem the spread of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The team will assist in the search and destruction of mosquito-breeding sites, conduct fogging exercises, as well as execute public education campaigns. However, regional vector control officer at Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) Ryan Morris stressed that residents still have primary responsibility for ridding their premises of mosquitoes.

“I say [the workers will] assist in search and destroying mosquito-breeding sites because the public has a responsibility to first search their premises,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The temporary workers will join 12 permanent vector-control employees, 31 community health aids assigned to the vector control programme, and a team of public health inspectors.

The engagement of the temporary workers is timely as there has recently been an increase in the parish’s Aedes index. Acting chief public health inspector for St James, Sherika Lewis, put the numbers at eight per cent in June, an increase over previous months. This means more breeding sites were identified. According to the health department, the aim is to have an Aedes index below five per cent.

Speaking at the last monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation, Lewis said that during the month of June 4,345 premises across 151 communities were inspected, with Aedes aegypti breeding sites discovered at 10 per cent of those properties. She added that fogging was conducted in only 13 communities across St James. The number of communities fogged decreased due to the curfew hours and increased rainfall throughout the parish.

The Aedes index refers to the percentage of premises or homes in a limited, well-defined space, where actual breeding of Aedes aegypti is found and the total number of houses examined in that area.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for the spread of the dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya viruses.

Symptoms of dengue fever include sudden onset of high fever with severe headache, fatigue, pain behind the eyes, muscle, bone or joint pain, skin rash and vomiting or feeling nauseous.

Morris noted that, in the past, temporary workers employed under the vector-control programme have been helping to boost the health department’s vector-control efforts. He is hopeful that, with the additional manpower, the Aedes index will decrease significantly.

With the spread of the novel coronavirus, Morris explained, it is possible to contract both dengue fever and COVID- 19 at the same time, and he urged citizens to protect themselves against mosquito-borne diseases.

“The region is encouraging everyone to play your part in mosquito prevention and control by at least inspecting your premises once per week and destroy breeding sites,” he said.