The Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment will be embarking on a national cleanup campaign in an effort to reduce the breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the vector that transmits the Zika Virus.
Minister of Health Hon. Luke Browne made the announcement at a Press Conference earlier this afternoon where he outlined the national response of his Ministry to the Zika Virus which was on Monday declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Minister Browne, said the national clean up campaign will target communities with the highest mosquito indexes, these include Rose Hall, West Wood, Troumaca, Clare Valley, Colonarie, Byera, Park Hill, Sion Hill, Belair, Enhams, Kingstown, Campden Park, Buccament, Barrouallie and Paget Farm, Bequia.
Minister Browne said that in the long term his Ministry plans to use both policy and legislative tools to achieve sustainable mosquito control, and they are considering ways to strengthen the laws possibly by instituting a system of ticketing for households that are habitual mosquito breeders.
There are no reported cases of Zika virus infection here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but stringent measures are being put in place to manage it, should it surface.
