SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1984
MR CHAU GAR-WAI, HEAD OF THE UNIT, SAID: INTERMITTENT RAIN CREATES CONDITIONS THAT ARE MORE CONDUCIVE TO MOSQUITO INFESTATION. EXAMPLES ARE DISCARDED BEER CANS, VARIOUS EMPTY CONTAINERS LEFT IN THE OPEN AND CONSTRUCTION SITÉS.
+THROUGH THE STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF MOSQUITO PREVENTION LEGISLATION, 553 PERSONS WERE CONVICTED AND FINED A TOTAL OF $0.5 MILLION DURING THE 12-MONTH PERIOD ENDED JUNE 30 THIS YEAR.+
HE SAID THAT AN AVERAGE OF 900 SUMMONSES FOR ILLEGAL MOSQUITO BREEDING ARE SERVED IN THE URBAN AREA EACH YEAR, BUT THIS HARDLY REFLECTS THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF WORK DONE BY THE PEST CONTROL STAFF OF THE URBAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE EXECUTIVE ARM OF THE URBAN COUNCIL.
ALL BUILDING SITES ARE INSPECTED ONCE A WEEK WHILE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES, AND VARIOUS POTENTIAL BREEDING PLACES ARE INSPECTED REGULARLY BY THE DEPARTMENT'S DISTRICT OFFICERS.
LAST MONTH ALONE, 4 453 BUILDING SITES AND OPEN SPACE AND 28 877 HOUSES WERE INSPECTED. ALTOGETHER 749 BREEDING PLACES WERE LOCATED, RESULTING IN THE ISSUE OF 13 WARNING LETTERS AND 49 SUMMONSES.
QUITE APART FROM THE RELATIVELY HARMLESS CULICINE MOSQUITO, A FAR MORE VICIOUS TARGET OF MOSQUITO CONTROL IS THE MALARIA-BEARING ANOPHELINE MOSQUITO.
MR CHAU RECALLED THAT AFTER 1-1/2 DECADES OF DORMANCY THIS DISEASE RESURGED AND HAS PRODUCED SOME 30 OUTBREAKS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES BETWEEN AUGUST AND DECEMBER LAST YEAR.
CONTROL MEASURES AGAINST THE MAL ARIA-BEARING ANOPHELINE MOSQUITO WERE IMMEDIATELY STEPPED UP THROUGHOUT THE TERRITORY TO PREVENT THE DISEASE FROM SPREADING.
EXPLAINING THE DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING THE TERRITORY TOTALLY MALARIA-FREE, MR CHAU SAID: +MALARIA IS NOT A QUARANTINABLE DISEASE AND EVERYDAY, AN AVERAGE OF 40 000 VISITORS AND LOCAL RESIDENTS ENTERED HONG KONG. IT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHECK EACH ARRIVAL FOR MALARIA INFECTION.
+THERE IS, HOWEVER, LITTLE RISK OF MALARIA IN URBAN ENVIRONS. ELABORATE WATER MANAGEMENT AND SUPPRESSION OF BREEDING PLACES WERE PRACTISED CONTINUOUSLY IN ALL POTENTIAL ANOPHELINE MOSQUITO BREEDING PLACES, INCLUDING ALL HILLY STREAMS AND SEEPAGES ON HONG KONG ISLAND AND ALONG THE SLOPES OF THE KOWLOON HILL RANGE.
+THESE WERE SUPPLEMENTED BY WEEKLY APPLICATION OF LARVICIDAL OIL AND INSECTICIDES.+
/GREAT STRIDES ....
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