Westmoreland Aedes Index Falls as Health Officials Maintain Mosquito Alert

Westmoreland has recorded three consecutive months of improvement in its Aedes index, according to the parish health department. The decline indicates reduced exposure to dengue and other illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes.

Dr Marcia Graham, Westmoreland’s Medical Officer of Health, reported that the index moved from 10.4 per cent in April to 9.6 per cent in May. By the close of June, it had fallen again to 8.4 per cent.

The index represents the proportion of surveyed homes and other properties where breeding by the Aedes aegypti mosquito is detected. Dr Graham presented the latest figures at a recent monthly sitting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

Despite the downward movement, she warned that residents must remain vigilant because conditions that encourage mosquito reproduction can return quickly. Rainfall, newly formed breeding areas and reduced public participation could cause the index to rise again, she said.

Residents were asked to inspect their homes, workplaces and places of worship each week and remove containers or other locations that can hold water and support mosquito breeding.

Dr Graham also advised members of the public to limit mosquito bites by covering exposed areas of the body, particularly in the early morning and evening. Insect repellent, mosquito nets and screens fitted to windows were also recommended as protective measures.

Vector-control personnel are continuing interventions in communities considered at greater risk. Their work also covers areas where suspected cases of mosquito-related disease have been identified.

Dr Graham further reported that four deaths recorded in Westmoreland this year had initially been suspected of having connections to dengue or leptospirosis. Laboratory results, however, found that all four cases were negative for both illnesses.

She called for continued cooperation with the parish’s vector-control programme as Westmoreland seeks to remain without cases of dengue and leptospirosis.