May 10, 2016: The following is a message from the Minister of Health on the occasion of Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week:
Dear Fellow Citizens,
This week, May 9th to 15th 2016, marks our first ever Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week. Mosquito-Borne Diseases have long been a major public health concern. The emergence of the Zika Virus in the Caribbean has brought new and alarming threats, especially to pregnant women and infants.
The main objective of Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week is to strengthen existing programmes and encourage the public to take action in eliminating breeding sites. In light of this, the Ministry of Health is reaching out to each and every home in Trinidad and Tobago to ensure that all citizens are sensitized about Mosquito-Borne Diseases.
Trinidad and Tobago is especially susceptible to these threats since mosquitoes thrive in tropical and sub-tropical climates such as ours, and we are home to the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito. This is the main vector responsible for the spread of the Dengue, Chikungunya and now Zika Viruses.
There are no vaccines for the majority of mosquito borne diseases. However, prevention and control of breeding sites can lessen their impact and incidence.
One of the mandates of the Ministry of Health is to reduce the prevalence of vector-borne diseases. This is facilitated by the Insect Vector Control Division which monitors and controls these vectors. Already, the Division has achieved success in integrating proper management strategies in communities; much of this success is owed to the diligence and cooperation of citizens.
I appeal to all of you to do your best to stop mosquitoes from breeding in your homes, your schools and your neighbourhoods. Ridding your surroundings of old tyres or containers and covering tanks, buckets and other forms of water storage with tight fitting lids will reduce breeding grounds and the incidence of diseases spread by mosquitoes.
Let us all do our part. Let us protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Sincerely,
Terrence Deyalsingh
Minister of Health