Tema Regional office of Zoomlion Ghana limited has begun massive mosquito control exercise within Tema and its environs to help reduce mosquito population.
The larvae source management approach which involves the application of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti) which has been recommended for larviciding by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the efficient biological agent against mosquito larvae targets the mosquitoes at the larval stage and eliminates them before they develop into adult mosquitoes.
The Tema Regional Vector Control Officer, Mr. Enoch Mintah who is leading the team to undertake the exercise explained that prior to application of the BTI, mosquito breeding sites were identified and mapped for effective application of the bio-larvicide.
He said the team who are well-trained and with the technical knowledge have been deployed to Tema East, Tema West, Ashaiman, Kpone-Katamanso and Prampram to control the mosquito population by applying bio-larvicide to kill the mosquito larvae.
Mr. Mintah pointed out that ponds, stream fringe, water channels, rice fields, end of flood water among others are possible breeding sites for mosquitoes hence the need for the public to uphold good environmental sanitation practices to discourages the breeding of mosquito sites.
The Malaria Focal Person for Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, Ms Elizabeth Appiah Bonnah expressed satisfaction of the work done by Zoomlion Ghana Limited and optimistic that the exercise will be undertaken in all identified mosquito breeding sites within the Tema metropolis.
She said mosquito types such as Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex are of public health concern which needs to be managed effectively to help minimize the diseases they cause.
Mrs Bonnah said Malaria which is transmitted by the female anopheles’ mosquito is among the top ten recorded diseases in the Tema Metropolis and measures such as larvae source management among others will help reduce the population of mosquitoes.
She urged residents to regularly desilt drains and undertake good environmental sanitation practices to help keep their environments safe.