Lahore buses may be exporting dengue to rest of Punjab
There is no system to monitor buses going out from Lahore early morning and evening at bus-stands which are breeding places of dengue mosquitoes resulting in transportation of these mosquitoes to other cities, experts believe.
A leading entomologist, who is part of the Punjab chief minister’s 50-member research team on dengue, notes that the virus is spreading rapidly in other cities of Punjab where it did not exist before. “It could only have been transported through mosquitoes themselves or through infected patients. But dengue mosquitoes cannot fly for more than two kilometres. However, if a mosquito is on a bus, it can travel hundreds of kilometres and infect people in other cities,” he said.
Members of the team, which has been tasked with indentifying breeding areas of mosquitoes in Lahore, believe that bus stands in Lahore are not properly cleaned and hence may be breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying dengue virus.
“So far no attention is being paid to these bus stands. Early morning, many buses leave Lahore, unmonitored, for other cities and a number of mosquitoes are found on these buses,” another entomologist said. “Owners should be bound to fumigate these buses before they leave Lahore. This can be very effective for stopping the virus from spreading to other cities.”
Private cars, experts said, could also be a problem area but public transport is more likely to be the cause.
“Private car owners normally maintain a level of cleanliness so there is less chance of mosquitoes breeding in them,” an entomologist said. “Authorities must immediately take note of public transport and fumigate these buses before passengers board them,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.
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@Omer: I worked in Sind last year and there was already much Dengue Fever there. Do people have any idea to what extent the Dengue Virus is endemic in parts of Pakistan?
Glad some one noticed.
I forced the Daewoo Express bus driver yesterday (25th Sep) to spray the bus before it travelled to Islamabad from Lahore. His argument was that the bus had just arrived from Rawalpindi so it could not have any mosquitoes in it!
The spraying was ineffective though since they used a low quality spray and just sprayed under the seats when all the passengers were seated.
I travel weekly and on every trip there are mosquitoes and flies inside the air-conditioned buses and once i took it to myself to atleast kill the mosquitoes.
Advice to self and passengers, keep your own bottle of Mortein in hand and apply insect/mosquito repellent. Refuse to let the bus driver drive the bus if you see mosquitoes inside the bus, your and ever other passengers health could be at risk.