UWI establishes Mosquito Unit

The Ministry of Health has partnered with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus to establish a Mosquito Control and Research Unit.

he unit will be responsible for coordinating best practices in integrated vector management and research into mosquito control and eradication.

An entomologist, who will head the unit, will coordinate work from the resulting collaboration between the Ministry’s Vector Control Unit and the UWI’s research.

Other stakeholders that will be incorporated include the UWI’s International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS), Jamaica Red Cross, Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the National Youth Service (NYS).

The unit was formally launched by Health Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, and UWI Principal, Professor Archibald McDonald, during a ceremony at the institution on Friday.

Tufton said the unit’s establishment reflects the requisite coordinated and integrated stakeholder approach to arresting the “clear and present” danger posed by the mosquito, the primary vector that spreads diseases such as Chikungunya, Dengue Fever and Zika.

Noting the various interventions being undertaken by the Ministry, University and other stakeholders in this regard, Tufton said it can be logically concluded that “if we were to bring all of these together and coordinate the efforts, then we would be a lot more effective (in) the control and, hopefully, elimination of the mosquitoes over time”.