BTI to be sprayed in mosquito breeding grounds

26 May 2011 10:00 am

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

With the sharp increase in dengue cases being reported from the Colombo city, BTI bacteria is to be sprayed in potential mosquito breeding places where access for cleaning them is extremely difficult.

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena yesterday instructed Dengue Control Programme (DCP) Director Dr. Sarath Deniyage to spray locally produced BTI on mosquito breeding places in the Colombo city.

Minister Sirisena took this measure after learning that there has been a sharp increase of dengue in Colombo in the last few months.

Officials pointed out that the rains experienced right now would contribute to create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and it is extremely difficult to reach them. Therefore, the only option is to spray such places with BTI.

The officials further added that empty bottles, plastic cans and containers of ice cream, yoghurt and other plastic vessels are found in thousands at garbage dumps. Other main mosquito breeding breeding source is gutters of the roofs. The mosquito larva can be destroyed at such places only through BTI spray, they said.

There were 6,035 cases of dengue reported island wide as at yesterday with 49 deaths as per the data available at the Government Epidemiology Unit.