Jamaican retired public health inspectors to help with mosquito eradication

Gov't hoping to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites

The Government of Jamaica will be contracting the services of retired public health inspectors to help eradicate mosquito breeding sites across the country as preparations for the Zika Virus intensify.

Minister of Health, Horace Dalley, says inspectors, who have retired over the last two years, will be engaged in the first instance, on three-month contracts.

“We are calling out all public health inspectors, who have retired in the last two years. We are bringing them out to help in this drive.”

He was addressing a function held at Food For the Poor’s (FFP) on Tuesday.

Chairman of FFP, Andrew Mahfood said the charity should be in receipt of fever medication and others supplies within the next two weeks.

“By all indications it (ZikV) will come, so we are bringing in a container of fever reducing medication. We are also bringing in mosquito foggers,” he informed.

He said that FFP is also having discussions with the Ministry of Health for the shipment of a container of mosquito repellents for distribution to public health facilities.

Mahfood is urging Jamaicans to heed all the messages being disseminated by the Ministry, so that the efforts at containing ZikV can be successful.

Dalley noted that partnerships have been established with the church and the private sector in preparing the country for ZikV, and 1,000 young people have been engaged to assist with identifying and destroying mosquito breeding sites.

So far, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has added Caribbean countries to the list of places to be avoided by Americans because of the outbreak of the Zika virus, including Haiti and Puerto Rico.