FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says that despite the increased mosquito population in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, so far there has been no report of an uptick in cases of dengue fever.

Aedes aegypti is the species of mosquito responsible for the spread of dengue fever and other diseases, including chikungunya and Zika fever.

“In terms of dengue, we have not noticed any increase in dengue in the parish [Trelawny] or, indeed, in the country. It is not to say that with the increase population the risk of dengue will not increase. It will,” said Tufton.

“And so what we [are] asking people to do is to be vigilant and to manage their environment. But as of now we haven’t seen any increase in dengue,” added Tufton as he addressed reporters during a tour of Falmouth on Friday

Following a meeting with the mosquito-eradication team for Trelawny, Tufton expressed satisfaction with their work.

“All in all I think that the team here in Trelawny is ready. I am just here to give them some moral support and we want to wish you the best and to say to citizens, let’s work together to move the process forward,” said Tufton.

He stated that the number of vector workers in the parish, which now stands at 68, will shortly be increased to roughly 10, and two more vehicles will shortly be contracted to add to the six vehicles now available to the mosquito-eradication team.

“We did say we would get private contractors, so the parish has already been mobilised. It means that you will have at least six, hopefully seven, vehicles going out, this is separate and apart from the teams that go out,” the health minister said.

“You have 12 fogging machines, both hand-held, and vehicle mounted, and we want to increase the vehicle count by at least two next [this] week, I am told, and two ULV [ultra-low volume] machines, which are the ones which do more fogging faster because they are mounted at the back of the vehicles [will be added],” said Tufton.

He also disclosed that 10 teams are dispatched five days a week in the mornings and seven days a week in the evenings in Trelawny.

“We have doubled up the shifts, and it means that you covering a lot of communities. The critical thing is to ensure that we are efficient and the team I think is ready and doing a lot of work, and I want to commend them for that and just to say to them, just recognise that you are really important to solving the problems of many residents in the parish. And so we just have to give it the all we have.

“I suspect that over the next two months you will have this mosquito population before we can cauterise it — six weeks to two months. It is not that it will go away, but we can reduce the population with consistency. I want to say to the citizens that it is not just about fogging, it is also about larvicidal work. So the oiling, dropping the tablets in the drums, and so on,” added Tufton as he called on residents to be part of the effort in the mosquito-reduction fight.

“We ask you to play your part in controlling breeding sites, that’s a very critical part of the messaging. Get rid of the water that is in your vase…old tyres, and milk tins, and so on. You have to control your environment and also protect yourself. Get an insect repellent; protect yourself so that you play your part in ensuring that we don’t see an ongoing situation where you become a part of the problem rather than the solution,” Tufton said.