The main stakeholder — the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) — recently ordered 40 new fumigation machines for Rs280 million. The city is playing catch-up as it needs 100 vehicles but until recently it owned only 10. It currently has 60 machines, said CDGK health group of offices EDO Dr Nasir Javed Sheikh while talking to The Express Tribune.
Sheikh was critical of the operation. He said that fumigating only one of the city’s 18 towns is ineffective as the mosquitoes simply move to other areas. “Fumigation can only be effective if it is carried out simultaneously across the city,” said Sheikh, who even felt that the number of machines was well below the mark.
Under the radar
The CDGK is also struggling with technical aspects of fumigation. In 2007, it had approached the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to approve plans for aerial fumigation. But as the CAA does not allow flights across the city below 100 feet, the CDGK was forced to continue with its on-ground plan, which only covered a radius of 30 feet at a time.
Chemicals
One litre of Permethrin — a synthetic chemical widely used as an insecticide and insect repellent — is dissolved in 49 litres of water to make the insecticide ready for use, said Sheikh. The vehicle used in fumigation should move opposite the direction of the wind at a speed of 10 to 12 kilometres per hour. If this speed is not maintained, fumigation is useless.
Internal strife
In October, the DCO had decided to divide the fumigation services between the CDGK health group of offices and the Municipal Services Department (MSD) as the latter had a greater workforce under its command, said Sheikh. The MSD was directed to keep drains clean and cover them with a thick layer of burnt oil to prevent mosquitoes from settling.
MSD EDO Masood Alam told The Express Tribune that the health group of offices had failed to do the job which is why his department was called upon.
The health group of offices is trying to “defame the entire campaign” due to “vested interests”, he alleged, claiming that the MSD had increased the number of vehicles from 10 to 42 in one week while the health group of offices had kept the machines and chemicals packed in storerooms.
When asked about these allegations, city administrator Fazlur Rehman said that the CDGK was going through a financial crunch, which is why it couldn’t buy machines. This was also the reason behind the decision to hand over the fumigation to the MSD, which was capable of ensuring that it is done more effectively. “The CDGK is determined to take all measures in the city’s interest,” said the administrator, who added that he has been personally monitoring the work to ensure transparency with the help of elected representatives.
Timing is everything
A well-placed CDGK official told The Express Tribune that the fumigation process was scientifically useless during the afternoon as the Aedes aegypti mosquito bites people only either immediately after sunset or just before dawn.
He said that the CDGK had wasted “prime time” — the summers — when the fumigation should have been completed. The relevant department also lacked the technical expertise required to get the job done, he claimed.
The ongoing campaign, which is focused on the eradication of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is unnecessary as the mosquito’s ability to infect people becomes “sluggish” as the temperature reaches 23 degrees centigrade. The Aedes aegypti mosquito completely loses its ability to infect people at temperatures below 18 degrees centigrade. With winters around the corner, the CDGK official thought it was “a folly” to continue with fumigation. What this official did not factor in is the statistics: November is peak season for the virus and the highest number of patients.
He also claimed that the fumigators did not know that the Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds in fresh water and lives in indoor spaces. Therefore, it remains unaffected by the fumigation on the streets as people normally kept the doors and windows of their houses and buildings closed.
The fumigators are also unaware of the proper speed of a fumigation propeller, which is why the Permethrin is lost in the air immediately after it is sprayed, he added. The official was of the view that although fumigation has been made part of the MSD, it should remain strictly under the health department. The CDGK health group of offices has been deliberately kept away from “such health-related matters”, he said.
While fumigation was under the health group of offices, it was handed over to the MSD as the former lacked the required manpower, which the MSD could provide as it had malaria coolies, city wardens, and sanitary personnel, he added. However, the administrator tasked the MSD with the job after wasting around five months, said the official, who was also concerned that the chemical used in the recent fumigation drive had not been tested at any national or international laboratory for quality and effectiveness. The CDGK had the chemical tested from the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PQSCA) just once, he claimed.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2010.
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