This blog is not diligently updated due to poor internet connectivity. And oh man…. We had to pay RM1/hour just to use the plug point at the diners we ate in!!!
We arrived at the DHO office at 8.00am for our topic on District Vector Control. We attended a meeting conducted at the start of the day by the Vector Control Unit. Here they discussed on areas known to be dengue hotspots.
Right after the meeting, we were invited to join the unit in surveying Kampung Carok Tok Latah for dengue larvae. It was brought to our attention that the surveys are usually conducted in the mornings and the fogging in the evening as that is when the mosquitoes are known to be at their parasitic best.
We arrived at the Kampung by about 9.30am, ie. 20 minutes after our departure from the DHO. We parked our cars at a convenient spot at the side of the road and proceeded with the crew to our first target. I must say, professionalism was indeed practised.
The personnel in charge, Mr. Rosli guided us throughout the procedure. He went up to the lady of the house and introduced himself, his partner and us. He stated his intentions for being there as well as flashed his tag to confirm his identity. He then asked the permission of the lady to inspect her house, both inside as well as out. Making sure the lady was there throughout the inspection, he showed us prone areas for breeding such as the water container beneath the refrigerator, bird feeding containers, tubs inside the house. Outside we were shown areas such as tyres, flowers pots and containers that are upright.
As were were moving from house to house, we did get to see some breeding sites for mosquitoes, the first being an abandoned container outside a house whose owner was not in. As such, Mr. Rosli was only able to collect a sample and seal the bottle, and overturn the container to ensure the larvae did not complete its life cycle. By right, the owner is supposed to witness the collection of the sample into an empty bottle, give his particulars, and the container labelled with adequate information of the site, time etc.
We then went to five other houses…. well actually four others. The last house was teatime:)… Rambutans!!
After filling our tummies to our hearts content, we headed back to the DHO. There, Pn. Yusnita gave us a briefing on whatever we did that day as well as its purposes, before being joined by En. Johari. Boy was he a firecracker. He interrogated us on our knowledge ( dear lecturers, you will be proud to know that we managed to answer most of the questions to do AIMST proud. Yes, even we amaze ourselves sometimes). He was a breath of fresh air. Life was brought to the rest of our briefing. We then adjourned for our lunch break.
After lunch, we met another pleasant personnel, En.Mohd. who took us into the lab two-by-two to have us view the fruits of our labor under the microscope. We were shown how to differentiate between the A. aegypti, the A. albopictus and the culex mosquito by looking at the combteeth at the caudal end of the abdomen just before the siphons meet.
Allowing us to prepare the slides, he continued to share his knowledge with patience before finally calling it a day. During that time, we managed to fulfill one of our objectives… Poison Concoction!! – to eliminate the mosquitoes. When using the Agrofog machinery, the ratio is 40mL poison to 1 litre diesel; 160mL poison to 4 litres diesel; or 400mL to 10 litres diesel. Similarly, when using the Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) machinery, the ratio is 10 litres poison to 15 litres diesel.
I must say, Jitra has been good to us thus far. The people here are nice and the warmth shown to us is overwhelming. Signing out for now – xoxo Lynette.
By: LynAnt
Source: kubangpasu2010.wordpress.com