Mosquito hunters await credit for dengue fight

Entomologists from Faisalabad directed campaign to stop mosquito breeding.

LAHORE:

While the chief minister has been congratulating doctors for their efforts as the number of dengue patients drops, entomologists brought in from Faisalabad to hunt Aedes aegypti all over the city await acknowledgement for their contribution.

Fifteen insect experts from Faisalabad’s Entomological Research Institute arrived in Lahore on September 25 and have spent the last two weeks identifying the breeding sites of the dreaded dengue mosquito.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the entomologists expressed disappointment that they had not been mentioned in any report prepared by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat or in statements issued by the Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR).

“We don’t expect any medals but at least our role should be acknowledged by the authorities concerned,” said one scientist.

“Everybody from the chief minister to provincial secretaries is praising doctors. Their role has been just of patient management. We have been in the city since September 25 on the chief minister’s instructions and have been working day and night to identify breeding places. No one ever speaks about that,” said a team leader of the entomologists.

The entomologists have found mosquito larvae in graveyards, ponds in various areas, used tyres, empty plots, and leaking drainage pipes. They submitted daily reports to the chief minister and made recommendations on where to spray insecticide. They also assessed the effectiveness of the spray.

“We went to bus stands and graveyards where no fogging or fumigation was being carried out. We visited mosques and found that ponds had larvae of dengue mosquito and also suggested a way to destroy them. Several of our colleagues were attacked by Aedes aegypti in the field,” an entomologist said. He added, informatively, that the dengue mosquito is also known as the tiger mosquito due to its rapid attack.

A research team headed by a leading entomologist from Agriculture University Faisalabad is working on a long term policy to find a biological control of dengue. One of the researchers said he had given up his research to help the provincial government in Lahore.

“For the last 15 days I have been staying at Agriculture House and visiting dens of dengue mosquitoes. My personal work has stopped completely, but I am here to play my role to control dengue,” he said.

He said considering their effort, it hurt to see others being praised while they were not. “I and my fellows believe that when the authorities praise the Health Department and city government in their reports they should at least mention us. We are the ones who have been monitoring the officials of these two departments,” he said.

A Health Department spokesman said that the entomologists had worked very hard and the chief minister had stated at several meetings how much he appreciated their efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.