|
Dengue fever is an ever-present threat in
our country and often the health authorities carry out fogging to destroy the
adult Aedes Egypti mosquitoes that carry the disease-causing virus. We
heard that one of our neighbors was hospitalized with dengue fever. Two days
later, just as the sun was setting, a van carrying officials from the Health
Department arrived in our neighborhood. Two uniformed men went round the houses
informing the occupants that they were carrying out fogging in the area,
including inside each house. everyone was to come out of their houses.
Two other men, each armed with a fogging machine and wearing a gas mask, then
proceeded to fog the area.
The machines made a very loud wailing noise and produced huge amounts of
smoke. This smoke was the very substance that killed mosquitoes, or for that
matter, many small insects that come in contact with it. It had a slightly
pungent smell to it and we were advised not to breathe it in. After all it
killed mosquitoes and insects. It was definitely not good for us to breathe it
in.
The men went from house to house fogging the compound and the inside of each
house. As all the occupants had to come out, some elderly residents were helped
out by younger ones. So for about half an hour, all the residents in our
neighborhood stood or sat outside while they watch the men fog their houses.
During that time, neighbors exchanged stories and news about the dengue
situation and the victim who was still in hospital. It was actually a bit
of a social event for the residents.
The smoke dissipated after the men left.
Then house by house, the occupants returned to their homes that would be free of
mosquitoes for a day or so. The residual smell was
tolerable. It was a change from having to put up with irritating
mosquitoes on most days.
Fogging was an effective way of destroying mosquitoes but it did not
eradicate them, for soon the larvae that were living in water would soon emerge
as adult mosquitoes to bite and possibly endanger us once again. |
