News
Richard Khan
As concerns grow over the spread of dengue fever nationwide, South Oropouche Riverine Flood Action Group (SORFAG) chairman Edward Moodie plans to reintroduce predatory animal species to several hectares of lagoons to disrupt mosquito breeding in Woodland.
When Newsday visited the community on July 7, Moodie said the mosquito population had skyrocketed and hundreds of people were at risk of contracting dengue fever.
Forest dwellers contract dengue fever
Residents of the Pluck Road neighborhood could count nearly half a dozen people in their community who had been diagnosed with dengue fever and nearly twice as many who had symptoms but had not been formally diagnosed.
Among the worried residents was Tara Jaglal, who fears her eight-year-old granddaughter could be one of the latest victims, after she began suffering from a high fever and headaches on Saturday night.
“Right now we have some papaya leaves and I’m trying to make him something to drink.”
Dengue fever is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes through the bite of an infected animal. Aedes aegypti Or Aedes albopictus Endemic to TT for over 30 years, dengue is characterized by sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that appears three to four days after the fever begins.
Papaya leaf tea is an alternative medicine often used to treat this condition.
Tara and her husband, Roy, have lived in this community for 43 years. Surrounded by a lagoon, mosquitoes have always been a problem during the rainy season, but they say the situation has gotten worse this year.
“There are always mosquitoes in Woodland, you know, but this time the amount is very different. I don’t know where all these mosquitoes are coming from,” Roy said.
“We always have the door closed, day and night. We can’t open it during the day because we’re afraid they’ll come inside… so we always have the place closed, we light mosquito coils and buy a lot of creams to rub on our hands and feet, etc.”
Lack of spraying
According to residents, there are at least four cases of people with dengue fever in Tennant Trace, Pluck Road, at least one of whom contracted the disease in the past week.
Donna Ramcharran bought various chemicals to spray around her home to protect her daughter, who has a health condition that puts her at high risk of adverse outcomes if she contracts dengue fever.
“I went and bought some Malathion to spray around my house and I also bought some medicine to spray inside my house against mosquitoes.
“No one comes to spray, so we have to do it to prevent our families from getting sick, because staying in the hospital is already a long drama in itself. When my daughter stays, I have to stay too because she is a minor.”
Jaglal also complained that he had not received mosquito spraying from the Siparia Regional Corporation or the Insect Vector Control Division of the Health Ministry.
Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayroo could not be reached for comment. He had previously said the company was engaged in spraying operations and had requested assistance from the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.
Although he couldn’t say whether spraying had been done in his area, Vijai Seegobin said this year’s mosquito population appears to be the worst he’s seen in the six years he’s lived there.
A natural plan to slow down mosquitos population
During a Newsday tour of part of the 65 acres of wetlands across Rahamut Trace, the SORFAG chief blamed the perceived increase in mosquitoes on a large influx of salt water from the sea when the banks of the South Oropouche River were compromised during flooding last year.
“We brought evidence: all the fish, the native species, died because of the salt. The EMA (Environmental Management Agency) did their tests and showed that the water was actually brackish, meaning it had a higher salt content than normal.
“With all the fish and other organisms dead that can’t withstand the salt, we now have fresh water coming in through rainfall, and the mosquitoes are breeding undisturbed because there are no natural predators.
“Even the dragonfly population this year is at a much lower level. Normally, dragonfly larvae feed heavily on mosquitoes.”
He said while the Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes take advantage of these conditions, but other more dominant species are present and pose a nuisance to residents and livestock.
Newsday didn’t have to look far to find evidence that there was a Aedes aegypti mosquito population present, as this reporter was bitten twice by the insect with the distinctive white patterned body.
Dipping his hand into one of the marsh’s thousands of puddles, Moodie spotted dozens of larvae.
“Imagine over 65 acres.”
Moodie said he intends to revitalise the Woodland ecosystem and develop eco-tourism through a sustainable and climate-resilient initiative. This includes, he said, reintroducing some of the mosquito’s natural predators into the lagoons, such as the cascadura, which would help combat the spread of dengue fever.
“We’re going to try to raise and breed 10,000 cascadura fry. We’re going to take them at the egg stage and reintroduce them mainly in the Rahamut Trace area, because that’s where the vast marsh is and where the salt water has had its greatest effect.”
The initiative, he said, would take about four to six months to implement, as that is how long it takes for fish species to start reproducing.
He said he already has farmers on board and is trying to raise some $30,000 to fund the project. He believes that if government agencies can spray wetlands to mitigate the threat in the short term, the combined efforts could lead to a significant reduction in the mosquito population and the threat of dengue in the medium to long term.
Additionally, he believes the plan, along with increased education about sustainable practices, could breathe new life into the once-booming cascadura fishing industry.
Newsday was unable to reach Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries Kazim Hosein for comment at press time. Questions were directed to his communications team.
The Ministry of Health has confirmed 190 cases of dengue fever in TT, with two deaths, the most recent being a teenager from Fyzabad.